State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has urged the country’s garment industry owners to set up rooftop solar system under net metering policy to take advantage of green energy.

“If you set up solar power plant for your own consumption using your industry rooftop, it could be a good investment which not only reduces your power bill, but also benefits you to get a credit of green industry”, he told industry owners while addressing a virtual workshop on Tuesday.

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Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (Sreda) organized the workshop titled: “Scaling Up Net Metered Rooftop Solar on Knitwear Industry” with its chairman Mohammad Alauddin in the chair.

The workshop was also addressed by Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) vice president Mohammad Hatem, Bangladesh Energy and Power Research Council (BEPRC) chairman Zakia Sultana.

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The government introduced net metering policy under which a consumer can sell his unconsumed or additional electricity generated from rooftop solar to the national grid.

The State Minister said that use of efficient technology and green energy will help promote sustainable growth the industry.

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“It will help our appeal industries compete to the global market at lower production cost”, he said.

Nasrul Hamid said the government has initiated a move to reach electricity to off-grid areas through solar home system, mini-solar power grid and submarine cables.

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He said the government set a target to generate 10 percent of electricity from renewable energy sources.

To achieve this target, he said, the government has taken different steps including a net metering system to promote the use of rooftop solar power.