Renewables 2020: Global Status Report
Bangladesh ranks 2nd in providing off-grid solar energy solutions to homes
Bangladesh has ranked second in providing off-grid solar energy solutions to homes. The Himalayan nation Nepal stood first on the list.
In 2017, the countries with the highest rates of electricity access from off-grid solar were Nepal (at around 11%), Mongolia (8%), Bangladesh (8%) and Rwanda (6%).REN21
Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) placed Bangladesh second jointly with Mongolia in its ‘Renewables 2020: Global Status Report’.
The report reads, “In 2017, the countries with the highest rates of electricity access from off-grid solar were Nepal (at around 11%), Mongolia (8%), Bangladesh (8%) and Rwanda (6%).”
It predicted the solar energy coverage to homes in Bangladesh will increase to 10 per cent by 2020 and 100 per cent by 2050.
However, it voiced concern that in Bangladesh, imports of sub-standard products are threatening sustainability of the domestic market and led the national government to introduce minimum quality standards on solar modules, inverters, charge controllers and batteries.
Between 2013 and 2019, the report added, the sale of solar pumps has also increased in Bangladesh.
Peer-to-peer electricity trading
“In India, more than 150,000 units have been sold, and in Bangladesh some 1,500 solar pumps were deployed between 2013 and 2019 under the IDCOL Solar Irrigation Program,” it added.
Bangladesh, it added, has introduced a concept of peer-to-peer electricity trading and “swarm electrification” was being tested among rural households in Bangladesh.
Through swarm electrification, households can sell their excess electricity to neighbouring households.
“The government of Bangladesh, SOLshare (Bangladesh) and the national grid operator kicked off a pilot project in 2019 to trial the concept, which could enable more households to connect to electricity,” the report reads.
Demand for biogas rises
The demand for biogas for cooking is also rising in Bangladesh.
It said while the biogas demand for cooking decreased in China and India between 2014 and 2018, it is ‘surging in other Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Vietnam.’
It mentioned around 125 million people worldwide used biogas for cooking in 2018, most of them in Asia (including 111 million in China and 9 million in India).
It stated that Bangladesh’s bio-power consumption will increase to 7 MW by 2021 while biogas power to 7 MW by 2021, waste-to-energy to 40 MW by 2021, hydropower to 4 MW by 2021, solar power to 1,676 MW by 2021, and wind power 1,370 MW by 2021