Renewable Energy Resources and Technologies in Bangladesh

This is a review paper presenting the state of the art of the renewable energy resources and technologies in Bangladesh. The information presented here are taken from various publications and from websites of the relevant agencies. About 38% of the Bangladeshi population has access to electricity. Nearly 75% of the population is rural and only about 30% of the rural households have access to grid electricity. The remote and isolated rural areas are not often feasible for conventional grid-based electrification due to high investment and running costs. To accomplish the stated goal of providing universal electricity access by 2020, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) encourages implementing off-grid renewable energy technologies, such as solar home systems (SHS), biogas power and micro-hydro and wind power systems. Bangladesh has abundant resources of renewable energy. Research and development activities on RETs have been started in seventies and gained momentum during the present decade. With financial supports from a number of donor agencies, several public and private organizations have gained appreciable expertise and business skills for installation and dissemination of RETs in off-grid remote areas. The use of solar PV systems for lighting and power; biogas for lighting, cooking and power generation; wind and water turbines for power generation have substantially improved the socio-economic conditions of the rural households and communities, enhanced business of small enterprises, improved health services of the rural clinics, improved education of the children, enhanced IT activities in rural areas and finally improved the lifestyle of the rural people.