The government is looking to use the rooftops of factories and public agencies to generate about 300MW of clean electricity through solar photovoltaics (PV) — a move that can slash emissions and dependency on fossil fuel.
“We are considering rooftops because of scarcity of land suitable for setting up solar power plants to generate renewable energy — and we have a lot of rooftops,” said Siddique Zobair, member of the Sustainable & Renewable Energy Development Authority (Sreda).
The move comes at a time when the government is falling behind its target of generating 10 percent of electricity by renewable energy by 2020. The share of renewable energy is just 2.83 percent, according to Sreda.
Bangladesh’s current power generation capacity is 20,834 MW, with the country remaining heavily dependent on fossil fuels and conventional energy resources to meet its energy demand for a growing economy.
To increase generation of renewable energy, the government signed power purchase agreements with 11 private firms that took initiatives to establish solar parks. But thus far, only two have started operations.
A lack of availability of suitable land has been blamed the most for the sluggish progress, according to officials.
Rooftops of public agencies and plants offer good potential, Zobair said, adding that the Sreda is hoping to generate 300 MW of electricity over the next four years through rooftops.
Germany is one of the big proponents of rooftop solar installation. As of September 2018, total installed capacity of solar systems in Germany is 42,000 MW, of which rooftop solar installation accounts of 71.4 percent.
Australia is another leading country in rooftop solar installation. As of June, the contribution of solar rooftop system is about 43 percent of total installation.
“Industrial rooftops hold huge potential,” said Mahmood Malik, executive director and chief executive of Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (Idcol).