Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, the interim government’s adviser for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, has said that the private sector will be encouraged to participate in the energy sector, but only through competitive processes.

“There are a lot of bad names in the energy sector, and businessmen should move forward to overcome such scandals,” the adviser said during a meeting with representatives of the Bangladesh Solar & Renewable Energy Association (BSREA) at the Ministry on Thursday.

During the meeting, BSREA leaders raised several demands to remove various bottlenecks in the sector that hinder investment. In response, the adviser directed the ministry to form a committee to address these issues.

The adviser underscored the need to expand beyond the traditional focus on solar energy within the renewable sector. "We have to move beyond the concept that renewable energy means only 'solar.' You need to explore new ideas and options for investment in the renewable energy sector," he stated.

He also highlighted the importance of finding innovative technologies to develop sustainable solar cells and proposed exploring unconventional options like utilizing tea garden spaces for solar projects.

Fouzul further advised exploring the potential of floating solar systems as an effective solution to overcome land scarcity issues in renewable energy projects.

As the adviser for road transport, bridges, and railways, he also called for initiatives to modernize and increase the capacity of solar energy systems.

The meeting was attended by Senior Secretary of the Power Division Md. Habibur Rahman, President of BSREA Md. Nurul Akhtar, Senior Vice President Mostafa Al Mahmud, and other senior officials from the Ministry and BSREA.