New policy for renewable sources of energy on cards: minister

The government plans to adopt a new policy and regulation for renewable sources to ensure energy security and cut carbon emission, State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid said yesterday.

The government relies on conventional sources—coal-fired, hydro-electric and nuclear for base grid—of energy, as its renewable sources are unstable, the minister said.

He spoke at a roundtable on “Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (Tarrif for Rooftop Solar PV Electricity) Regulations, 2016 (Draft)” at The Daily Star Centre in Dhaka. The Asia Foundation organised the event.

The government is purchasing lands to install solar panels, as part of its efforts to add 1,000 MW of electricity to the national grid, he said.

“Then we'll invite big companies to invest and set solar panel on the lands.”

Solar panels as well as renewable energy are costly, although they are environment friendly, Hamid said.

“But we'll also have to think whether people will choose the costly sources of energy.”

Salim Mahmud, chairman of BERC Arbitration Tribunal, urged the government to finalise the regulation soon.

Ijaz Hossain, professor of the chemical engineering department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, gave a presentation on the tariff for rooftop solar PV electricity.

He discussed how the developed countries, including the USA and the Europe, use the solar panels.

Siddique Zobair, member of the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority, suggested solar panels should be installed on the rooftops of tall buildings like textile mills.