The interim government has come up with a lucrative package for the expansion of solar energy, offering land and interconnection to the national grid, said energy adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan.
鈥榃e have big plans for solar energy expansion,鈥� said the adviser at a discussion organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry at its auditorium on Saturday morning.
Solar energy is viewed as the most potential solar energy source for Bangladesh. But the potential remained untapped, with the past Awami League government frequently citing land scarcity hindering solar expansion.
The Bangladesh Power Development Board, Fouzul said, would soon start publishing open calls for 40 renewable energy projects, mostly solar power projects.
The 40 projects had been initially rewarded by the immediate past government without bidding. The interim government has cancelled the approval for all of them and is going for open invitation.
鈥楶articipating in the project would be like plug and play,鈥� said Fouzul, explaining that the investors would get land and the project ready.
The solar power project would also enjoy tax exemption for 15 years, he said.
Renewable energy currently accounts for less than 2 per cent of electricity consumption. Bangladesh鈥檚 current installed electricity generation capacity is 27,740MW.
About 60 per cent of power generation in the country is dependent on imported fuel. Fuel imports, mainly liquefied natural gas import, drained the country鈥檚 foreign reserve, mostly since 2018.
Energy experts at the discussion said that solar power could easily replace fuel oil consumption, particularly during summer, when up to 4,000MW is sourced from oil.
Energy shortage has reduced production in industries by 35 per cent, said energy expert Mohammad Tamim in his keynote presentation in the discussion.
鈥榃e have to keep importing fuel to minimise the energy crisis,鈥� he said.
He predicted the gas crisis to persist for years to come and advised that the government could consider coal mining.
Business leaders present at the discussion urged the government to supply gas to industries on priority. They argued that the industry sector ensures the best use of energy. Energy expert Ijaz Hossain reminded that disrupted industrial production meant drop in foreign currency income which would reinforce the ongoing energy crisis.
Former Dhaka University teacher Badrul Imam said that Bangladesh was not supposed to have an energy crisis given its geological construction, indicative of sitting on a huge gas reserve.
鈥楤angladesh could be sitting on one of the world鈥檚 largest gas reserve,鈥� said Badrul.
鈥榃e don鈥檛 see any end in sight to the energy crisis because of our inactivity,鈥� he said.
Bangladesh has one of the world鈥檚 highest gas discovery rates per drilling. Still, the country carried out almost no gas exploratory programme despite daunting energy crisis over the last decade.
Instead, the country began importing LNG in 2018, causing energy prices to astronomically rise and eventually a prolonged spell of inflation aggravating the hardship particularly of the low-income people.