Energy experts at a webinar on Saturday said managing primary fuel at an affordable cost has emerged as the biggest challenge for Bangladesh in the volatile global energy market. The country’s electricity largely depends on gas, while oil-based fuel runs vehicles and industries, which need to be modernised and made energy-efficient. The government should also promote renewable energy as the country has a high potential of generating power from wind, wave, and solar energy sources. The Rooppur nuclear power plant, after completion, will provide clean energy, but we need to adopt electricity-run vehicles and factories instead of fossil fuel to take advantage of it.
The price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is so volatile globally that it varies from USD7 to USD29 per MMBtu. Even the price may go up to USD80. Experts have said the global prices of primary fuels like petroleum and LNG are going up due to the resumption of economic activities across the world following the Covid pandemic shock. The reluctance by international financing agencies to fund coal projects is another reason for such spiralling fuel prices. Experts have asked the policymakers to adopt a diversified energy policy to absorb the global shock. The government should go for a long-term agreement with the suppliers of LNG so that the country receives primary fuels at lower costs.
Amid the popularisation of green energy, Bangladesh should take an aggressive policy for the development of the renewable energy sector. We have huge potentials for solar power, offshore and onshore wind power and also wave power. But such potentials have remained untapped. Many countries are now emphasizing the development of renewable energy to meet future electricity demands. It is predicted that we will run out of fossil fuels in this century. Oil can last up to 50 years, and natural gas up to 53 years. Yet, renewable energy is not popular enough. Instead of depending on one primary fuel such as LNG Bangladesh should opt for a balanced combination of energy diversity to keep the wheels of industry moving and meet growing demands of other sectors.
