Industries can benefit from installing rooftop solar: Speakers

Speakers at a webinar on Thursday said that industries can benefit from installing rooftop solar as its power generation cost is significantly declining.

"Now industries can reduce their cost to Tk 5.88 per unit (each kilowatt hour) for electricity by rooftop solar,” Shafiqul Alam, lead analyst of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) South Asia, told the webinar titled: "Scaling Up Rooftop Solar Deployment in Bangladesh".

Alam claimed a combined rooftop solar of 2000 MW can help Bangladesh save between $476 and $1 billion per annum, read a press release.

Energy and Power magazine and the IEEFA South Asia jointly organised the virtual seminar which was addressed by Director General of Power Cell Mohammad Hossain, former Dean of BUET Prof Ijaz Hossain, Executive Director and CEO of IDCOL Alamgir Morshed, President of Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association (Bsrea) and Director of Energypac Power Generation Ltd Md Nurul Aktar.

Energy and Power's editor Mollah Amzad Hossain moderated the webinar.

In a presentation, Shafiqul Alam said solar can help reduce load shedding but people are still either unaware or doubtful of the benefit of the rooftop solar system.

He observed that lack of support from banks and financial institutions has been a bottleneck for promotion of renewable energy across the country.

"Only state-owned Infrastructure Development Company (IDCOL) considers rooftop solar as a priority in the financing while other institutions and banks do not", he said.

Mohammad Hossain said that after the introduction of the net metering system, rooftop solar is getting popular and people are showing interest in installing rooftop solar as they benefit in their billing.

He also said Korean EPZ has installed a 40 MW rooftop solar system which is the highest in the world as a single system.

Under the net metering system, consumers can sell their unconsumed electricity to the utilities through the grid, he added.

Prof Dr Ijaz Hossain said that what is happening in rooftop solar is frustrating as the grid-related people are not very interested in renewable energy, especially, grid-tied rooftop solar systems.

"The people working with the grid fear that they would not be able to manage the grid if 2000-3000 MW solar comes into the system", he observed.

Executive Director and CEO of IDCOL Alamgir Morshed said so far his organisation has financed a total of 50 MW rooftop solar projects and has a target to finance 300 MW projects by 2025.