International Solar Association (ISA) is supporting Bangladesh for developing a ten-year solar roadmap for transition to renewable energy.
"We are engaging in the solar roadmap project as consultant. It is a comprehensive document. We are assessing all the scenarios for wider solar reach," Remesh Kumar, chief of programme and project implementation cluster at ISA, told a meeting with Bangladesh media delegates on Tuesday.
Bangladeshi journalists visited the ISA secretariat at National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) campus in Gurugram, Haryana of India.
ISA Chief of Operations, Joshua Wycliffe gave the welcome address on behalf of Director General Ajay Mathur.
In his speech, Wycliffe said the International Solar Alliance and Bangladesh have been working closely to promote solar power as a solution towards the fight against climate change.
"Bangladesh has been among the earliest supporters of the ISA, having joined as a member country in 2016, and is now a vice-president country for the Asia and Pacific Region for a tenure of two years," he said.
Bangladesh and Tuvalu are now presiding over the ISA regional committee for Asia Pacific Region.
During the fifth meeting of the committee, Bangladeshi State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid lauded the role of ISA in the clean energy transition by deploying solar solutions.
"The ISA has nine comprehensive programs that cover a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, health, transportation, storage, green hydrogen and more. All aimed at harnessing the potential of solar power," he said in an ISA press release.
In the media release, ISA Director General Dr Ajay Mathur said that Bangladesh has significantly promoted solar energy applications, particularly on rooftops.
"We are strengthening our collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh to extend assistance through various programmes on solar adoption and building collaborative efforts towards achieving sustainable energy goals," he said.
Mathur hoped to build institutional capacities, mobilize investment and scale up solar adoption.
In collaboration with ISA, Bangladesh is working to create a pipeline of bankable solar projects and attract investments.
The partnership has committed to accelerate the journey towards access to energy, climate change and the Paris Agreement.
India and France conceived the ISA as a joint effort to mobilize efforts against climate change by deploying solar energy solutions.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then French President Francois Hollande jointly launched ISA at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris on 30 November 2015.
ISA has been promoting solar power as means for a sustainable transition to a carbon-neutral future.
