Power generation from renewable sources up by 100 per cent a year

Shamsul Huda | Published: December 29, 2013 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

Power generation from renewable energy sources is growing by 100 per cent every year both in grid and off grid zones, according to market data.
The small unit based solar home systems (SHS) are growing by 100 per cent every year mainly in the off grid zones with support of the international donor agencies and government institutions, sources said.
More than 100 megawatt power is being generated from SHSs and their number across the country is more than 2.7 million, a Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA) source said.
The source said solar power is being generated for other diversified uses like running irrigation pumps, powering base transceiver station (BTS) towers of mobile phone operators, street lights, mini grids and in many other ways.
Total power generation from solar renewable sources is more 150 megawatt now and the growth is geometric, BSREA President Dipal Chandra Barua told the FE.
He said foreign donations, local private investments and government's steps are helping this sector to grow.
He said currently solar panels, charge controllers, batteries, energy bulbs and other solar power related equipments are being manufactured locally as sub sectors.
A number of local companies have also invested their money in assembling solar panels and are providing qualitative solar panel products to the customers.
The government itself is also spurring the solar renewable energy sector. It has already taken a project to generate more than 100 megawatt power from solar energy by next year through independent solar power plants.
According to a Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) source, the organisation has plans to install a 70 megawatt, 30 megawatt and 3 megawatt independent solar power plants at different places of the country.
Wind renewable energy programmes are also forging ahead under the government funded projects, the BPDB source said.
The government has already installed wind mills in Sandwip and Feni and are planning to install many others "after the current ongoing assessments," the source said.
The state owned Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) is providing loans at low interest rate to the participatory organisations so that SHS installations take place with their small instalment loan support.
Currently more than 25 participatory organisations are working under IDCOL and the SHS installation rate is 87 thousand units per month.
Solar powered lights and solar irrigation pumps also have a good growth as the farmers see solar irrigation more viable than using oil fuel to run their pumps.
A solar renewable energy expert said if the current growth continues for the next three years, Bangladesh would get more than one thousand megawatt power from solar renewable sources.
He said solar renewable energy is getting support from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other international financial institutions.
A source in a leading mobile phone operator said, "We are providing solar power to more than 200 of our BTS towers and we are planning to gradually power all the stations by solar energy."
He said along with the existing oil fuel-powered BTS towers, solar power is also there in many stations as back-up.
A renewable energy source said, "We are getting proposals from the mobile phone operators to convert their existing BTS towers into solar powered ones.
He said the operators are finding solar powered BTS towers more cost effective than oil fuel powered stations.