Broadly speaking, the book's articles dwell on diverse themes like clean energy initiatives; incentivising renewable electricity generation; using water bodies for solar power; floating solar photo-voltaic technology; rooftop solar power; grid integration of solar energy; using water-bodies for solar power generation; incentivising through net metering; turning electricity consumers into producers; unlocking the potentials of offshore wind power; harnessing marine renewable energy; wind-solar home power systems at remote locations; and solar power for energy self-sufficiency in the country's airports. The interview taken by Bloomberg NEF summarises Bangladesh's achievements in producing power from renewable energy as well as the vision and strategies in the area for the upcoming years. It is a slim book of 122 pages, providing valuable information to the readers on the renewable energy scenario of the country, and the technical, financial-cum-managerial challenges being faced in their application-cum-adoption in Bangladesh, a land having unique resource endowments and constraints. The book also contains an exhaustive list of references on renewable energy development in Bangladesh.
In his short and succinct foreword to the volume, the adviser to the prime minister on power, energy and mineral resources Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury BB wrote: "It is not a story of one-size fits-all - a common global narrative, deficient in recognising the importance of local conditions. Bangladesh, with over 1250 persons per square km - the most densely populated large country in the world has to sync its development needs and energy goals; any land-intensive solution is not an answer here. Moreover, without a viable and affordable storage system, renewable energy cannot be mainstreamed and will remain a burden on the power system, which has to cater to the 24/7 demand of its customers".
A senior civil servant belonging to the 1989 BCS batch, Mohammad Alauddin notes that the book is an assemblage of his articles written over the past eight years while he has been serving in the Power Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources. The illustrated paperback printed on glossy art paper and laden with elaborate and coloured graphics, photographs, tables, charts and references is undoubtedly a precious addition to the debates and discourses surrounding renewable energy in developing countries like Bangladesh. It would certainly prove invaluable to relevant scholars, academics, students, policy makers and inquisitive readers alike - who are interested to have a glimpse of the state of renewable energy applications in Bangladesh.
Dr Helal Uddin Ahmed is a retired Additional Secretary and former Editor of Bangladesh Quarterly. hahmed1960@gmail.com