Harnessing solar power

With long hot summer months, Bangladesh is an ideal candidate for the increased use of solar energy. If solar energy can gradually replace the use of fossil fuels in different sectors not only will it save crores of taka spent in importing fossil fuels but emission-free energy sources will help reduce the carbon footprint to a great degree. 

According to a report, alluding to the global energy think tank Ember, published in this newspaper recently solar power could cut Bangladesh’s LNG imports by 25 per cent and save the nation $2.7 billion.

With climate change becoming a looming threat the country must look for ways to increase the use of renewable energy sources like solar power. Solar energy generates energy without releasing greenhouse effect gases (GHG), making them an indispensable ally in the battle against climate change and environmental degradation. In any case, fossil fuels will be depleted in the long run, unlike solar power.

The country’s energy mix is dominated by oil and gas. Apart from hydropower, the share of other renewable sources of power has been negligible. This has imposed a significant burden on our national exchequer. Unfortunately, there are very few academic centres or innovation cells researching materials, applications, business models or infrastructure financing. 

Bangladesh with vast tracts of sun-kissed lands is an ideal place for harvesting solar energy. It enjoys some of the best sunshine in the world for the most part of the year and is still energy hungry. Despite the availability of this solar energy resource, Bangladesh’s solar market remains relatively underdeveloped when compared to that in other countries in the region. A host of technical, economic and institutional barriers have constrained the widespread deployment of solar technology in this country.

 In Bangladesh, most of the electricity demand comes from residential and commercial consumers. Using solar energy to power homes will abet demand reduction for grid electricity, which has been growing steadily. There has been a recent trend among urban residential consumers to install solar panels to augment grid electricity supply. However, this has been limited to less than two per cent of the population, partly because of the nature of the investment. A solar home system compared to UPS and diesel generators is a long-term investment, deterring potential consumers. Thus, if solar were to truly take off in this country a cultural change is essential.

We are already suffering from a shortage of gas supply in households, fertiliser industries and other commercial sectors. Especially in the summer season when more gas is supplied to power stations, the supply is stopped to fertiliser industries. As a result, our agriculture sector is being affected.

Before all the non-renewables are depleted the country must adopt alternative energy sources, be it renewable with a bio-ecological/green revolution or nuclear power plants.

 Even though the cost of solar cells has come down considerably in the last decade or so, the initial investment in solar technology remains relatively high for an average Bangladeshi consumer, necessitating business models that offer innovative financing options to lower the upfront payment.

 Solar is a fast-developing technology as countries, both developed and developing, are making investments to increase the share of solar in their electricity generation mix. Bangladesh undoubtedly has a large potential for utilising solar energy. 

 It is high time that the government started thinking of long-term strategies to increase the use of solar energy and other renewables. Off-grid solar applications can certainly play a crucial role in lowering electricity demand.

The need for using solar energy in Bangladesh can’t be overemphasised. The sun is a huge source of renewable, clean energy. Some estimates that sunlight could produce 10,000 times as much power as the earth used at the turn of the 21st century. And as long as there is a sun, there will be solar power. After all, the sun is not dying any time soon. With rapidly increasing technological advances in harnessing the power of the sun the future of solar energy looks bright indeed.