Solar Energy

Bangladesh is a massively power-deficient country with peak power shortages of around 25%. More than 60% of its people do not have access to the power grid. The country only produces 3500- 4200 MW of electricity against a daily demand for 4000-5200 MW on average, according to official estimates. Solar energy is an ideal solution as it can provide gridless power and is totally clean in terms of pollution and health hazards. Since it saves money on constructing electricity transmission lines, it's economical as well. Little wonder that it is becoming popular in Bangladesh. The number of households using solar panels has now crossed the one million mark, the fastest expansion of solar use anywhere in the world. In 2002, just 7,000 households in Bangladesh were using solar panels, but now more than one million households, or five million people, are benefiting from solar energy. The Government of Bangladesh has also grasped the solar agenda, and the Prime Minister now has a 21.6 kilowatt solar power system for her office. Last year the Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank, installed a solar system on the rooftop of its main building to reduce pressure on the demand for electricity. This solar system, expected to last about 20 years, has an 8-kilowatt capacity. The Government of Bangladesh has also withdrawn all the import tariff and VAT (Value Added Tax) on the raw materials of solar panels for the current fiscal year. In his budget speech, the Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhit said that Bangladesh gets about 250 to 300 sunny days on average per year (rainy days are not included). He added that since the maintenance cost is very low, we could massively increase the use of solar power in the country. The solar panel providers in Bangladesh are now expecting the price of batteries and accessories to drastically reduce. In fact, solar panels and accessories imported from countries in the developed world like Germany cost a lot, but the same panels manufactured in China cost much less.