Promotion of Solar Energy Use in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh has very limited nonrenewable energy resources of its own. The country is facing energy crisis and serious desertification problem in rural areas. These issues could be removed if renewable energy is used as a primary source of energy in rural areas. Bangladesh is endowed with vast solar insolation. Harnessing energy from the resource appears to be a promising solution for improving the quality of life of rural villagers. The annual solar radiation availability in Bangladesh is as high as 1700 kWh/m2. Activities on the development and promotion of solar energy technologies have been going on for one decade have led to a start of large-scale utilization of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The development and trial of systems are mostly funded so far by donor agencies in collaboration with government and non-government organizations (NGOs). More than 61,500 solar PV systems of a total capacity around 3 MW and 260 hot box cookers have been installed allover the country mainly in off-grid rural, hill tracks and coastal Bangladesh.