MEDIA report quoting a Paris based thinktank said Bangladesh’s slow progress to solar based energy supply to reduce dependence on power supply from coal-based and nuclear plant risks manifolds danger to the nation. It is unthinkable that about 135 million people of the country accounting for 81 percent of the populations still lack access to renewable energy for lighting homes, cooking and cooling. It is cheaper and environment friendly but lacks vigorous drive behind it.
Majority of the population in Bangladesh still use coal, kerosene or traditional biomass in absence of clean cooking technology the report has said blaming many challenges in reducing reliance on big fossil based power. In Bangladesh use of solar energy still fallback at 2.61 percent and although many Asian countries are making progress, inadequate policy support of our government is keeping its growth at very low.
It appears development of solar energy in Bangladesh is purportedly held back with supply of poor quality solar panels and other devices. At least six countries including India, China and UK are pushing at least two dozen coal-based big power plants in the country’s coastal region while many are also dumping substandard solar modules apparently to retard its growth.
Surprisingly Bangladesh has already achieved huge overcapacity in power generation leaving at least half of it unused adding the load of pay bill for power companies spilling up on state exchequer. Power sector subsidies already eat up big part of the energy sector budget requiring users to pay regularly higher electricity bills for the unused capacity. The government and big power companies are together pursuing an ambitious monopoly of producing 60,000 MW electricity by 2041 when power generation would almost double the local demand. They are also insensitive on the nation’s environmental safety.
The report has sent a clear warning to reverse the course. But it appears the new budget has nonetheless promised to continue to invest in all such big power projects to protect big power producers interest. We would ask the government to change its policy of going with high cost fossil power sources and work for quick transition to solar technology to supply a bigger part of electricity need of the nation from solar sources.
