WB to give addl $100m loan for clean energy scheme
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
A Z M Anas
The World Bank (WB) has agreed to appropriate additional US$100 million in loan to help Bangladesh expand its clean energy programme on a large scale, officials said Sunday.
Of the total, $77 million will be channelled to the government's solar energy programme, while the rest will be spent for purchasing CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) bulbs under the second phase, they said.
The authorities are moving ahead with plans to finance installation of 1.0 million solar panels by 2012 as well as distribution of an estimated 27.5 million low-wattage CFL bulbs across the country.
"The scale is huge. So we need increased funding for the expansion. The government expects to secure loans from the Washington-based lender by June," an official at the Economic Relations Division (ERD) said.
The donor funding is part of the multi-year renewable energy development programme, being implemented by the state-owned Rural Electrification Board (REB) and Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL).
The World Bank said it is in a position to process the fund on a fast-track basis, and it requires no further approval from its board.
"It's good that the fund release is going to be less-complicated," the ERD official said.
The rate of solar energy use in Bangladesh has been annually increasing by 57 per cent since 2004, making it the fastest-growing market in the world.
The growth of solar panel system was 62 per cent last year, up from 49 per cent in 2008, and officials are hopeful about the continuation of the growth this year.
IDCOL, the state clean energy financier, has set a target to install 1.0 million solar home systems by 2012 as part of its expansion drive.
IDCOL assistant director Enamul Karim Pavel said his organisation could finance installation of at least 716,000 solar panels with the existing funds.
The World Bank (WB) has agreed to appropriate additional US$100 million in loan to help Bangladesh expand its clean energy programme on a large scale, officials said Sunday.
Of the total, $77 million will be channelled to the government's solar energy programme, while the rest will be spent for purchasing CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) bulbs under the second phase, they said.
The authorities are moving ahead with plans to finance installation of 1.0 million solar panels by 2012 as well as distribution of an estimated 27.5 million low-wattage CFL bulbs across the country.
"The scale is huge. So we need increased funding for the expansion. The government expects to secure loans from the Washington-based lender by June," an official at the Economic Relations Division (ERD) said.
The donor funding is part of the multi-year renewable energy development programme, being implemented by the state-owned Rural Electrification Board (REB) and Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL).
The World Bank said it is in a position to process the fund on a fast-track basis, and it requires no further approval from its board.
"It's good that the fund release is going to be less-complicated," the ERD official said.
The rate of solar energy use in Bangladesh has been annually increasing by 57 per cent since 2004, making it the fastest-growing market in the world.
The growth of solar panel system was 62 per cent last year, up from 49 per cent in 2008, and officials are hopeful about the continuation of the growth this year.
IDCOL, the state clean energy financier, has set a target to install 1.0 million solar home systems by 2012 as part of its expansion drive.
IDCOL assistant director Enamul Karim Pavel said his organisation could finance installation of at least 716,000 solar panels with the existing funds.