Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud has urged Bangladesh’s development partners, including the World Bank, to finance the country’s drive to increase the use of solar power in agriculture. Hasan said this at a dialogue on the prospect of solar-powered irrigation to enhance climate resilient agriculture in Bangladesh held at Bangladesh Pavilion in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. READ: Communal violence: Facebook cannot deny responsibility, says Hasan Mahmud The use of solar energy has increased in the country because it is climate tolerant, cost-effective, eco-friendly, he said.  “Every year, 1.24 lakh mts diesel is used to run irrigation pumps in the country. This can be saved if solar panels are installed to operate the pumps. Solar energy also helps reduce carbon emissions,” he said. Besides, a solar panel can operate for up to 20 years uninterruptedly, he said. The use of solar panels instead of diesel-run irrigation pumps was as important as the process of reducing the damage caused by future climate change. Therefore, Bangladesh has taken initiative to increase the use of solar panels instead of diesel in irrigation pumps. Idcol has been working to install solar panels in irrigation and the government has undertaken 789 projects at a cost of 443 million US dollar from the Climate Change Trust Fund with its own funding. READ: BNP’s 20-party alliance has only 8-10 parties: Hasan Mahmud He said Bangladesh has been working to mitigate the risks posed by climate change by formulating its own climate change strategic and action plan. Idcol has installed 1,515 solar irrigation pumps with aid of different organisation, easy loan and technological support, which is so admirable. He said the achievements of IDCOL in developing renewable energy and energy efficiency have given Bangladesh a global recognition.

Five largest partner organisations (POs) of state-owned IDCOL, who played a vital role in expanding the solar home system (SHS), are now seeking the government’s intervention to resolve the loan write-off issue. Otherwise, they say, they will be deprived of the benefit and face huge losses. Official sources said IDCOL recently forwarded a proposal to the Bangladesh Bank seeking a write-off approval of Tk 306.41 crore default loans for its 39 POs. Its 44 POs have about Tk 1,400 crore in default loans. Also read: Is solar power the solution to Bangladesh's growing energy ... They said these loans, provided by IDCOL, became default because of the government’s fast grid power expansion programme. “Grid electricity expanded to the off-grid areas that discouraged SHS consumers to pay back the loans they received from POs. Such unpaid loans finally made the POs defaulters in paying back the IDCOL,” said a top official of a firm involved in the renewable energy programme.  IDCOL had distributed the loan after receiving funds from different donor agencies, including the World Bank.    Read Govt rooftops can generate 2,000 MW of solar power, say experts According to World Bank’s latest data, an estimated $1,094.93 million was invested in the HSH project to provide electricity to about 20 million people — which means about $266 per household. Of the investment, 63 percent came from the World Bank, 14 percent from the Asian Development Bank and 12 percent from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The entire fund was distributed by IDCOL as a soft loan which resulted in saving Bangladesh $1,852 million while providing clean energy since 2003, says a recent World Bank survey. Also read: Rooftop solar power: 'Net metering can ensure cheaper ... It said the project helped households gain $745 million, partner organisations $310 million and the IDCOL $379 million while the government's net benefit was $474 million, said the donor agency. Solar industry insiders said the SHS programme was launched by IDCOL in 2003. In the last 18 years, over 5.5 million solar home systems were installed. They said that there was a tripartite partnership to the financial model under which IDCOL provided about 70 percent of the total cost of installing the SHS as soft loans to the POs, while the remaining 30 percent was invested by the POs and the customers themselves. Read Green energy's share of power generation lagging far behind conventional sources