Solar energy most potential among renewables in Bangladesh: Nasrul

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said that solar energy has the most potential in Bangladesh among all renewable energy sources.

The state minister said this in a video statement addressing the ‘Speeding up Energy Transition with Cooperation in Technology Innovation’ session of the ‘Second Belt and Road Energy Ministerial Conference’ organised by National Energy Administration of the People’s Republic of China (NEA) on Monday.

However, the government is also working to expand electricity generation from waste and wind, Nasrul said.

He said Bangladesh is working hard to transform clean energy as a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda.

Bangladesh's annual per capita carbon emissions are 0.4 metric tons, compared to the world's average of 4.5 metric tons.

As part of its commitment to be a carbon-neutral nation, it has already decided to shut down 10 coal-fired power plants with a capacity of 8,451 MW. Air mapping has been done at nine sites and a study on the possibility of off-shore winds will be conducted soon, he said.

He said, “The lack of land is a major challenge in the implementation of solar power plants. We are also lagging behind in manpower development and technology transformation. We can work together from tidal waves to electricity, wind power, modern technology, etc.”

The state minister said the cooperation between the two countries can be enhanced in the oil, gas and coal sectors through long-term trade and investment under the existing bilateral cooperation between Bangladesh and China.

The session also highlighted matters of technology and innovation in renewable energy.

Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Salman, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Congo HonoréSayi, Papua New Guinea Petroleum Minister Kerenga Kua and Secretary General of the International Energy Forum Joseph McMonigle spoke in the programme and moderated by former Secretary General of the IEF Sun Xiansheng.