Consultant of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (Sreda) has submitted its final draft on reviewing the “Renewable Energy Policy of Bangladesh 2008” to make it more effective in the changed energy and power sector scenario. “We submitted the final draft prepared to revisit the renewable energy policy on Monday”, an official of the consultant firm– Development Technical Consultants Pvt. Ltd (DTCL), told UNB. Experts engaged in the review said the most emphasis was put on revisiting the existing policy targeting the government’s goal for 40 percent of electricity from renewable and clean sources by 2041. “Against the backdrop of land scarcity, use of rooftop of industries and urban establishments for solar power, solar-run irrigation pumps, floating solar, use of non-agricultural land, wind power potentials, biomass plants received the highest priory in the final draft of the revised policy”, said an expert involved in the process of the draft preparation, but preferred anonymity. “Hydrogen energy, net metering system, use of Opex and Capex models for large-scale solar plants are also the areas, which received important focus in the review of the policy”, he added. He also informed that a national workshop will be held on the final draft to get the feedback of the stakeholders and other relevant departments on the final draft prior to giving a final shape of the revised policy. Read: Renewable energy jobs rise to 12.7 million globally Official sources said, Sreda, the focal organisation under Power Division of the government, has moved to revise the 14-year-old existing renewable energy policy, REPB-2008, to meet a new perspective in the energy sector. They said the initiative came from the government as a follow-up of its statements to the 26th meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), held in Scotland, United Kingdom, from October 31 to November 13 last year.  In the COP26 meeting, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a written statement said: “We are also working for a more sustainable energy mix. We hope to have 40% of our energy from renewable sources by 2041”. She also said, “Recently we submitted an ambitious and updated NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) to the UNFCCC. We have cancelled 10 coal-based power plants worth 12 billion dollars of foreign investment. Currently, as per Sreda statistics, the country generates about 911 MW (solar 677 MW, hydro 230 MW and others 2 MW) while the total power generation is more than 25,000 MW which shows the renewable energy’s share is less than 4 percent. The recent crisis in primary fuels for which the country is experiencing 4-6 hours load shedding is another reason behind the move, said a Sreda official. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, recently at a function, said that among other options of renewable energy, solar power has huge potential for Bangladesh. But since it requires substantial land allocation, it needs an innovative solution. He also said Bangladesh is now promoting the options of rooftop and floating solar plants and a net metering system has been introduced to popularise the use of solar power. Read: Renewable Energy Goal: Industry insiders, experts favour “target-oriented roadmap” “There is a good opportunity to work on wind power as well,” he said, adding that wind mapping has been completed for 9 potential sites and feasibility will be conducted on the potential for offshore wind power. Private investors in the renewable energy sector welcomed the Sreda initiative to review the renewable energy policy and bring necessary amendments to promote non-conventional energy sources. Dipal Barua, president of Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA), termed the initiative “time befitting.” He said despite a huge potential, the country could not utilise it due to lack of a proper action plan. Munawar Moin, Vice President of BSREA and President of Solar Module Manufacturers Association of Bangladesh (SMAB), said the government should introduce a policy under which the local solar industry could utilize its full potential. Cost of solar energy decreased substantially and has created a huge scope for investment in mega projects, he said.  

The government is working to revise the “Renewable Energy Policy of Bangladesh 2008” to make it more effective in the changed energy and power sector scenario. Official sources said, Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (Sreda), the focal organization under Power Division of the government, has already appointed a consultant. The consultant – Development Technical Consultants Pvt. Ltd (DTCL) – has started reviewing the existing renewable energy policy, REPB-2008, and organize focus group discussion for stakeholders. Read:Govt deliberately pursuing import-dependent energy policy: Speakers According to renewable energy industry insiders, the first meeting of the stakeholders will be held on September 20 in Sreda office. The consultant firm convened the meeting on behalf of Sreda where it will make a presentation on the existing policy and seek opinions of the stakeholders to update it in a national and global changed scenario, said an industry insider. He said the initiative have come from the government as a follow-up of its statements to 26th meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), held in Scotland, United Kingdom, from October 31 to November 13 2021.   Read: Experts for reining in energy corruption, exploration of alternative sources In the COP26 meeting, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in written statement said: “We are also working for a more sustainable energy mix. We hope to have 40% of our energy from renewable sources by 2041”. She also said, “Recently we submitted an ambitious and updated NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) to the UNFCCC. We have cancelled 10 coal-based power plants worth 12 billion dollars of foreign investment. Currently, as per Sreda statistics, the country generates about 911 MW (solar 677 MW, hydro 230 MW and others 2 MW) while the total power generation is more than 25,000 MW which shows the renewable energy’s share is less than 4 percent. Read: Patience can help overcome crisis in energy sector: Nasrul The recent crisis in primary fuels is another reason behind the move, said a Sreda official. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, recently at a function, said that among other options of renewable energy, solar power has huge potential for Bangladesh. But since it requires substantial land allocation, it needs an innovative solution. He also said Bangladesh is now promoting the options of rooftop and floating solar panels and net metering system has been introduced to popularise the use of solar power. Read Huawei Technologies intends to support RMG industry in renewable energy “There is a good opportunity to work on wind power as well,” he said, adding that wind mapping has been completed for 9 potential sites and feasibility will be conducted on the potential for offshore wind power. Private investors in renewable energy sector welcomed the Sreda initiative to review the renewable energy policy and bring necessary amendments to promote non-conventional energy sources. Dipal Barua, president of Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA), termed the initiative “time befitting.” Read TEI GET to promote renewable energy in Bangladesh He said despite a huge potential, the country could not utilize it due to lack of proper action plan. Munawar Moin, Vice President of BSREA and President of Solar Module Manufacturers Association of Bangladesh (SMAB), said the government should introduce a policy under which the local solar industry could utilise their full potentials. Cost of solar energy decreased substantially and has created a huge scope for investment in mega projects, he said. Read Green Economy in Bangladesh: Prospects and Challenges

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasral Hamid on Thursday said that a year-wise roadmap has been drawn up to implement the government’s renewable energy policy. He made the remarks while speaking at a webinar titled: “The International Forum for Energy Transition 2021” aimed at paving the way for carbon neutrality and green development He noted that Bangladesh has been the champion country in the world by installing six million solar home systems to bring 20 million people within the electricity access in the off-grid areas.  State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) jointly organised the online seminar which was moderated by SGCC executive vice president Pang Xiaogang. He said the government has taken initiative to install rooftop solar panels in all educational institutions to increase solar power. Also read: Uninterrupted affordable energy main challenge in future: Nasrul Hamid Nasrul Hamid said charging and operating guidelines was prepared to promote the electric vehicle (EV) across the country. “With the help of JICA, now we have been working on preparing an integrated master plan for energy and power sectors to encourage the zero carbon emissions”, he said adding that the new master plan will discourage the use of fossil fuel and promote the use of renewable energy.    The state minister informed that the government has already cancelled 10 coal-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 8451 MW as part of its move for promoting green energy. “Bangladesh is committed to increasing the use of green and clean energy”, he added. Bangladesh will carry out its development plans by ensuring rationality between socio-economic development and environmental protection. Egyptian minister for power and renewable energy Dr. Mohamed Shakar El Markaby, UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Sustainable Energy Damilola Ogunbiyi, Secretary General of the World Energy Council Dr. Angela Wilkinson and Executive Chairman of the State Grid Corporation for China Xin Baoan also spoke on the occasion.