Grameen Shakti set to export solar technicians to Arab countries, Africa
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Grameen Shakti is set to export women solar technicians to African and Arabian countries to transfer the Bangladesh's technology to those nations, reports BSS.
"My dream is to develop our human resources development in solar areas, as solar energy would be the key issue in the world as it is renewable and green energy. We would be the pioneer to export skilled solar technicians in the global market if we can develop human resources in this sector", Dipal Chandra Barua, Managing Director of Grameen Shakti told the news agency Monday.
To implement the idea, Grameen Shakti has started working with bureau of manpower, management and training in three districts, including Faridpur and Khulna.
They have also set up 33 Grameen Technology Centres all over Bangladesh to train rural women as solar technicians and entrepreneurs.
The company has installed more than 200,000 Solar Home Systems, over 6,000 biogas plants and over 25,000 improved cooking stoves.
They also plan to install one million Solar Home Systems by 2010 and construct 500,000 biogas plants and 10 million Improved Stoves by 2012, he said.
For this remarkable achievement in popularising solar home system across the country, the company has been awarded with the first "Zayed Future Energy Prize 2009".
"This reward has increased my responsibility to the society. The prize money includes 1.5 million dollars, a certificate and a gold medal. I want to invest the money for the development of the rural poor women", he added.
"I have started working in the field in 1996 with the village women and achieved my goal. My target is now to make the rural women self-reliant to help make the country poverty free", Mr Dipal said.
During the prize-giving ceremony, they asked to supply manpower (technicians) to their countries to install the Solar Home System, he added.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supports Grameen Shakti with 2.0 million dollars to focus on the economic empowerment of rural women by imparting them training to install and maintain photovoltaic Solar Home Systems (SHS), Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS) and Biogas Plants.
Dipal said they installed 20,000 solar home systems and trained 15,000 girls as a technician earns seven to nine thousand taka per month. Still, he faces some problems to popularise it among the masses.
"Our first objective is to bring down the cost of the solar panel and make it affordable to all, followed by second one to install solar grid and make it a solar using nation through creating huge jobs for the women by providing them proper training both at home and abroad", Dipal said.
He said the authorities would have to frame a policy guideline to support the ongoing Renewable Energy (RE) programme to make the government's initiative in the RE field a success.
Referring to the high cost of per unit electricity from renewable energy, he said the government should take initiative to bring the urban people under the programme for helping them install solar PV on the roof tops as the poor rural people would not be able to afford it.
"My dream is to develop our human resources development in solar areas, as solar energy would be the key issue in the world as it is renewable and green energy. We would be the pioneer to export skilled solar technicians in the global market if we can develop human resources in this sector", Dipal Chandra Barua, Managing Director of Grameen Shakti told the news agency Monday.
To implement the idea, Grameen Shakti has started working with bureau of manpower, management and training in three districts, including Faridpur and Khulna.
They have also set up 33 Grameen Technology Centres all over Bangladesh to train rural women as solar technicians and entrepreneurs.
The company has installed more than 200,000 Solar Home Systems, over 6,000 biogas plants and over 25,000 improved cooking stoves.
They also plan to install one million Solar Home Systems by 2010 and construct 500,000 biogas plants and 10 million Improved Stoves by 2012, he said.
For this remarkable achievement in popularising solar home system across the country, the company has been awarded with the first "Zayed Future Energy Prize 2009".
"This reward has increased my responsibility to the society. The prize money includes 1.5 million dollars, a certificate and a gold medal. I want to invest the money for the development of the rural poor women", he added.
"I have started working in the field in 1996 with the village women and achieved my goal. My target is now to make the rural women self-reliant to help make the country poverty free", Mr Dipal said.
During the prize-giving ceremony, they asked to supply manpower (technicians) to their countries to install the Solar Home System, he added.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supports Grameen Shakti with 2.0 million dollars to focus on the economic empowerment of rural women by imparting them training to install and maintain photovoltaic Solar Home Systems (SHS), Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS) and Biogas Plants.
Dipal said they installed 20,000 solar home systems and trained 15,000 girls as a technician earns seven to nine thousand taka per month. Still, he faces some problems to popularise it among the masses.
"Our first objective is to bring down the cost of the solar panel and make it affordable to all, followed by second one to install solar grid and make it a solar using nation through creating huge jobs for the women by providing them proper training both at home and abroad", Dipal said.
He said the authorities would have to frame a policy guideline to support the ongoing Renewable Energy (RE) programme to make the government's initiative in the RE field a success.
Referring to the high cost of per unit electricity from renewable energy, he said the government should take initiative to bring the urban people under the programme for helping them install solar PV on the roof tops as the poor rural people would not be able to afford it.