Assignment Point - Assignment point is a document …€¦ · Web viewChart 3: Market Share of Solar Energy Providers With a view to developing renewable energy resources to meet

Future Prospect of Solar Energy in Bangladesh

Thesis Paper

OnFuture Prospect of Solar Energy in Bangladesh

Submitted by

WWW.ASSIGNMENTPOINT.COM

1www.AssignmentPoint.com


As the time passes by, demand of energy is increasing with an increase in the world’s

population. From different corporations to small households, people need energy to perform

daily tasks. As the science and technology is developing, people’s lives are also becoming more

complex .To meet energy demands, renewable energies such as solar is used besides other

sources. This research intends to investigate whether there is any future prospect of solar

energy in Bangladesh. It is an exploratory research.

1.1 Origin

This report, “Future Prospect of Solar Energy in Bangladesh”, is the outcome of the study

conducted as a term paper requirement for the course Operations Management under the

supervision of Dr. Muhammad Ziaulhaq Mamun in Institute of Business administration, Dhaka

University.

1.2 Background

To meet the current energy demand there is no alternative to renewable energies such as solar,

wind, biomass etc besides other existing sources. Using solar energy, simply, is a process which

can provide energy from the sun. In this process, energy of the sun in the shape of photons

reaches to earth and meets the world energy demand of the whole year with just one minute’s

solar radiation. Photovoltaic panel (PV panels-made of silicon) is the tool to harness solar

energy.



Bangladesh is one of the densely populated countries which have not sufficient supply of

energy. The present crisis in power supply hints at the troublesome time to come ahead. In

Bangladesh, almost 80% of the people live in the village and only 32% of total population is

connected to grid electricity (Rahman, 2006).In light of the present demand for electricity; by

2020 the energy mix will be changed considerably from what it is today. The possibilities of

using solar power are already being tested and will mostly increase. But still, most households

meet their daily needs with biomass fuel. The country’s electricity distribution board is failing to

cope with the exponential growth in demand for power in the capital and all over the country.

Therefore, the researchers intend to investigate whether there is any future prospect for solar

energy in Bangladesh.

1.3 Statement of Problem

Bangladesh has a large unsatisfied demand for energy, which is growing by 10 percent annually.

Currently, it has the lowest per capita consumption of commercial energy in South Asia. While

the current installed capacity is 5320 megawatts, because of reduced efficiency of the old

generating units the derated (effective) capacity stands at 4830 megawatts as of November

2008. As a result, the country has been unable to meet the growing demand for electricity. All

parts of the country, including the capital, Dhaka, experience frequent planned electricity

outages (USAID, Bangladesh; February 02, 2009).

A research conducted by Akter (1997) reveals that, though different organizations such as Rural

electrification Board (REB), Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Local Government Engineering

Department (LGED), and Grameen Shakti (GS) have installed (are in the process of installation) a

number of solar PV systems in different parts of the country, these are not widely used in rural

and urban areas in Bangladesh. As Bangladesh is still very centralized to its capital, many

locations outside the capital do not get the attention they need when it comes to the daily

amenities, most prominent of them being a reliable source of electricity.

The above situation is also supported by a research where it is mentioned, for the near future,

it is impossible to connect every remote village and offshore island to the national grid system.

Since expanding the national grid in those isolated areas is very expensive and not cost



effective, solar PV could be an effective alternative to fulfill the electricity demand in these off-

grid areas (Ahammed & Taufiq, 2008).

The first solar PV–based rural electrification project in Bangladesh was initiated with the

financial support of France, with a total installed capacity of 62 kilowatts peak (kWp), of which

29,414 kWp came from battery charge stations and the rest from SHS (Barua, Urmee, Kumar,

and Bhattacharya, 2001).But solar PV systems do yet have broad market acceptance because of

the existence of barriers arising from the need for large-scale implementation. The main

obstacle is high initial costs. Lack of demonstration of the technology, limited awareness, and

uncertainty over after-sales service are the other barriers in the promotion of solar energy–

based electricity (Ahammed & Taufiq, 2008).

Under this situation, this research intends to evaluate the feasibility of the future of solar

energy in Bangladesh as a substitute to present methods of energy acquiring is imperative for

that cause.

1.4 Purpose

The broad purpose of this research is to explore whether there is any future prospect of solar

energy in Bangladesh. Moreover, some specific purposes of this exploratory research are –

To understand the socio-economic impact of solar energy in rural Bangladesh

To evaluate the impact of further growth in the solar energy sector on present power

distribution system of Bangladesh,

To ascertain if there is a slow growth in the implementation of solar energy and propose

recommendation to fix the problem

1.5 Methodology

Both primary and secondary sources are used for collecting information. The basis for primary

information was interview of Grameen Shakti personnel in implementing the solar energy

system in Bangladesh. For secondary data collection, websites, journals, articles and other

statistical sources are used.



1.6 Scope

This research is conducted from operational point of view. Other aspects such as technical,

financial and social aspects of the subject are considered as secondary concern for the report.

From statement of problem section, it is already mentioned that, rural areas are not properly

electrified though city areas have already come under the circulation of electricity. More over

there is no real time line when remote rural areas are going to come under the supply of

electricity. So, rural areas are the primary concern of this research.

Another reason of choosing rural area is that, the concept of solar energy is yet new and most

of the people in electrified areas will not be interested in using solar energy in alternate to their

main source of power. Now days, some discussions are going on to consider solar PV in urban

areas also.

1.7 Limitation

There are three limitations in carrying out this research.

1. One of the obstructions of the study is accessibility. Getting appointment with Grameen

Shakti was a bit tough.

2. The sample organization of interview for this research may be too small to represent the

expert organizations.

3. Physical visit to rural areas (where solar energy program in already implemented) was not

possible because of inconvenient location.



Solar Cells

Historical Overview:In 1839 a French physicist first discovered the photovoltaic effect while experimenting with an electrolytic cell made up of two metal electrodes. [45] After, the first intentional PV device was developed by the American inventor Charles Fritts in 1883. He melted selenium into a thin sheet of on a metal substrate and pressed gold-leaf film as the top contact. Later on, in 1954 researchers at Bell Labs accidentally discovered that p-n junction diodes generated a voltage when the room lights were on. Within a year they had produced a 6% efficient silicon p-n junction solar cell. The same efficiency was achieved the same year by the group at Wright Patterson air force base in the USA, only this time, they used a thin-film hetero-junction solar cell based on Cu2S/CdS. By the year 1960, several documents were written showing different solar cells built using different materials for the p-n junction, some key documents written by Prince, Loferski, Rappaport and Wysoski, Shockley and Queisser developed the fundamentals of p-n junction cell operation including the theoretical relationship between band gap, incident spectrum, temperature, thermodynamics and efficiency [46]. In the years to come the US and the USSR space programs played an important role in the R&D of solar cells, since they were the main energy source to power their satellites. The year 1973 was very important for PV technological advancement. First the “violet cell” was developed, having an improved short wavelength response leading 30% relative increase in efficiency over the most advanced silicon cells at that time. Also, the same year an important event occurred called the Cherry hill conference. During this event a group of PV researchers and heads of US government scientific organizations met to evaluate the scientific merit and potential of photovoltaics. The outcome was the decision that photovoltaic’s was worthy of government support, resulting in the formation of the US Energy Research and Development Agency, the world's first government group setup whose mission included fostering research on renewable energy, which ultimately became the US dept of Energy. Finally in October, the first oil crisis pressed all the governments worldwide to encourage the use of renewable sources of energy, especially solar. [46] From this point, solar research had the momentum and funding it needed from fuel providers, electric utilities and other interested parties to make a real impact on the energy industry. However, this didn't last long because in 1982 the public funding was cut by the national governments worldwide. It is due to this withdrawal of support that has left the impression that solar power cannot succeed without substantial subsidies. Yet progress did not stop, it just switched direction and rapid changes in the technology and PV industry and parties interested took place to begin a transformation of the energy industry. All around the world energy sustainability was getting more attention because of energy security issues and climate change. But the reasons for these sustainable changes should not only be attributed to social environmental consciousness. The main driving factor, as with almost all emerging industries, is economic sensibility. At the same time the fossil fuel industry was experiencing problems with supply and cost, China's economy



was developing at incredible rates. As of 2005, for example, China accounted for almost 30% of global growth where the European community accounted for just 5%. And as China develops, the amount of oil needed for economic expansion is comparatively more per unit of growth [47]. All of this indicates that even with the most optimistic view of conservation programs, sustainable energy generation will have to increase if development is expected to continue at current rates. Fortunately a healthy mix of sustainable energy generation technologies along with the gradual phasing out of widespread fossil fuel use is one likely scenario for the future. However, the most recent expansion of solar power is occurring mainly in Germany and Japan. At first glance this might seem surprising since neither Germany or Japan have a large amount of sunlight, but their lack of fossil fuel sources combined with a national government committed to sustainable energy programs have enabled solar power to thrive. Together these two countries, with Japan's sunshine program and Germany's 100.000 solar roofs program along with several government subsidies account for a full 69% of the world market for PV as of 2005. Also, the rate at which this market is expanding is encouraging - from 85 MW in 1995 to 1.1 GW globally in 2005.

Technology:

The smallest entity within a PV system is a solar cell. The solar cell is a semi conductor device, more precisely, a special type of diode. Incident lights free electrons. They are separated by an internal electromagnetic field as a consequence of the potential difference at the p-n junction. Voltage is generated between both surface contacts and a connected load draws a current fig (23). [49, 50].

As its name implies, photovoltaic is a technology that converts light (photo) directly into electricity (voltaic). The name of the individual photovoltaic element is known as solar cell, which is made out of materials called semiconductors. The most used semiconductor material is silicon, which in its naturally occurring state has the unique property of 4 electrons in its outer orbit, allowing them to form perfect covalent bonds with four neighboring atoms, thus creating a lattice. The obtained crystalline form is a silvery, metallic looking substance. In its pure state, crystalline silicon is a poor conductor, due to the fact that all of the electrons in the

outer orbit are bonded and cannot freely move. To change this behavior, pure silicon has to go through a process called doping. In this process some “impurities” (e.g. C, N, As, B) are added to the material [48]. A number of different solar cell technologies are currently applied or under development (Table 1). More than 90% of today’s annual solar production is made from crystalline silicon (figure 10). However, other semiconductor materials are also applied and several technologies are investigated [30].

According to the type of material added, the semiconductor receives the P or N classification.



● N-Type: Arsenic or phosphorous is added and since each element has 5 electrons in their outer orbit, there is one electron that has nothing to bond to, therefore is free to move withinthe material. By adding several atoms of arsenic or phosphorous, enough electrons will be able to move, allowing an electrical current to flow through the material. The name “n-type”comes from the electron's negative charge.● P-type: Boron or gallium is added. In this case each one has only 3 outer orbit electrons, and when added to pure silicon, there is a hole in the structure where one silicon electron hasnothing to bond to and is free to move. The absence of electrons creates the effect of positive charge, hence the “p-type” name . These electrons are occupying a band of energy called the valence band. When some energy is applied and exceeds a certain threshold, called the band gap, these electrons are free to move in a new energy band called the conduction band, where they can conduct electricity through the material. The energy required for the electrons to migrate to the conduction band can be provided by photons which are particles of light. Figure 1 shows the idealized relationship between energy (vertical axis) and the spatial boundaries (horizontal axis). When the solar cell is exposed to sunlight, photons hit the electrons in the valence band and give them enough energy to migrate into the conduction band. There, a n-doped semiconductor contact collects the conduction-band electrons and drives them to the external circuit where they can be used to create electricity. Then they are restored to the valence band at a lower (free) energy through the return circuit by a p-doped semiconductor contact.

Figure (23): Schematic of solar cell [30]



This is all possible because sunlight is a spectrum of photons distributed over a wide range of energy. Photons with greater energy than the band gap can drive electrons from the valence band to the conduction band and can travel through the external circuit to produce work. Photons with less energy than the band gap cannot excite the free electrons, and instead, that energy travels through the solar cell and is absorbed as heat. The voltage at which electrons are delivered to the external circuit are slightly less than the band gap. This voltage is measured in units of electron volts (eV), thus in a material with 1eV band gap the voltage delivered by a single cell is around 0.7V. Therefore multiple cells are connected together and encapsulated into units called PV modules which is the product usually sold to the customer.

Wafer –type Crystalline Silicon Cells:

Crystalline silicon cells are usually manufactured from silicon wafers. The wafers are sawn out of single or multicrystalline silicon ingots by means of wire saws. Typically

Figure (24): Schematic representation of crystalline solar cell supplying a resistive load.

They are about 0.3mm thick. A single crystalline wafer is in fact one single crystal. Multicrystalline silicon is composed of large crystal grains. Multicrystalline silicon cells are

Slightly cheaper, but have a somewhat lower efficiency. A relatively new approach is the production of multicrystalline silicon wafer ribbons or sheets, saving the cost of wafering ingots and reducing the sawing losses. Depending on the process applied, the frequency of ribbon of solar cells varies from little lower than up to comparable to that of multicrystalline cells [52]



To transform a silicon cell wafer into a solar cell, it is subjected to a number of steps, the most prominent being.

- Surface cleaning and etching and possibly surface texturing,- Doping, for instance, by phosphorous diffusion,- Attachment of front and back metal contacts, typically by screen printing,- Deposition of antireflection coating.

Crystalline wafer-type silicon cells are expected to dominate the world market at least for the current data

Table: Overview of the application solar-cell technologies.

Figure (25): Market share of different cell technologies in 2002 [36]



Figure (26): I-U curve of a crystalline silicon photovoltaic cell.

Crystalline:Crystalline Silicon technology (c-Si) accounts for more than 90% of the actual PV systems in the market, the reason why its presence is so high it’s because it has use all the technology and R&D of the semiconductors for the electronics industry since the 1960's. Furthermore, silicon is one of the most abundant minerals in the earth's crust, giving refineries virtually unlimited supply resources. However, silicon is a very brittle material, requiring relatively thick cells (~300um, although 100um thick cells can be obtained using the latest sawing technology), therefore some of the electrons excited by the photons have to travel large distances inside the materials, losing energy in a process called recombination, where electrons return to their valence band. Consequently a material with high purity and structural perfection is required. To avoid this loss, the electrons must be highly mobile, as they are in pure silicon. Imperfections and impurities can absorb the electron's energy and convert it into heat, impeding the electron's ability pass through an electric circuit. Once silicon of the desired purity is obtained, it is then put together into ingots and then cut into wafers using a saw. Wafers stand for about 65% of the module cost, equally divided between purification, crystallization and sawing. For many years the PV industry have used scrap silicon from the IC industry, but the increase of PV demand has nearly exhausted this market. The Siemensmethod for obtaining silicon is the most used worldwide but it has been considered ultimately too expensive for its use in PV. The purity it provides, however, is well above what is necessary for the fabrication of solar cells.

Thin FilmsAround 10 times more crystalline silicon is needed to absorb a given fraction of sunlight compared to other semiconductors like GaAs, CdTe, Cu (InGa)Se2 since silicon is the weakest absorbing semiconductor used for solar power. Therefore, thicker wafers have to be made when working with crystalline technologies and, because of the size, higher quality material has to be used because of the longer paths the high-energy electrons have to travel before reaching the



external circuit. During the same years c-Si PV cells were developed, it was shown that other semiconductors could be used for electricity production. When this material is used to make solar cells, so little of this material is required that a foreign material is needed to physically support the cells. During the first years of thin-films development, 4 technologies achieved higher efficiencies than 10%, Cu2S/CdS, 21 a-Si, CuInSe2/CdS and CdTe/CdS. Cu2S/CdS disappeared soon due to stability problems related to electrochemical decomposition. The main advantage of the thin films is the lower price they could achieve once set into a mass production scheme.Thin-film solar cell consist of a thin layer of electrically active semiconductor material, deposited on a cheap substrate. They offer a high potential for cost reduction due to their low material requirement [52]. Today they are mainly applied for consumer products and small stand-alone applications. Thin-film modules for power applications are not yet considerably cheaper than crystalline modules. By 2010, different thin-film technologies are expected to become a valuable alternative for wafer-type silicon. Nevertheless, they are not expected to replace wafer type silicon cells yet

Organic solar cells are based on organic semiconductors. Organic solar cells are not yet commercially available. However, in the long run, they may contribute to further reduce the cost of PV modules after the cost-reduction potential of inorganic thin-films will have been exploited[52].

This work does not focus on PV cell technology, but on the application of PV in grid-connected systems. The following investigations on PV system aspects implicitly assume the application of crystalline cells. Due to the dominance of crystalline silicon cells in the world market, this approach is reasonable. Nevertheless, most results may also be extended to other types of PV cells.

Electrical properties

The electrical properties of PV devices are given at so-called standard test conditions (STC):

- Cell temperature: 250 C;- SOLAR IRRADIANCE: 1000W/M ;- Solar spectrum: Air Mass 1.5.

The power maximum under STC is called peak power and it is indicated by the index p . Isc and Uoc are short-circuiting current and open-circuit voltage, respectively. MPP stands for maximum power point and indicates the point on the I-U curve where the generated power reaches its maximum. Rated values of current, voltage and power are generally given at the MPP under STC. A typical I-U curve of a crystalline silicon PV cell is provided in Figure 11. The open-circuit voltage of a crystalline silicon cell decreases with increasing temperature with about 0.4% of UMPP under STC per Kelvin. Simultaneously, the short-circuit current increases proportionally to the solar irradiance.



Solar-cell Efficiency

The efficiency under STC is defined as the ratio of peak power to cell area times irradiance under STC. Depending on the applied area, efficiencies found in the literature vary significantly. Today, efficiency values of small crystalline silicon cells in the laboratory can be as high as 25% under STC [54]. The parameter efficiency mainly shows the state of the art of different cell production technologies and serves as a benchmark for the achieved progress in solar-cell research.

Applied to PV system, the efficiency mainly expresses the power generation normalized to surface area. For the description of system performance and energy yield, the concept of efficiency is usually not applied.

Photovoltaic Modules

In order to make PV easy to handle in practice, solar cells are assembled into PV modules. Inside the module, the cells are connected in series and parallel by means of copper strips in order to achieve practically applicable voltage and current. Mechanical and optical properties are ensured by the physical structure, chosen for the particular module. Additionally, the module structure protects the cells and conductors from humidity. The typical sandwich structure of a PV module is shown in figure 26.

As front cover low-iron glass is used in order to minimize absorption. The interconnected cells are embedded between EVA (ethyl vinyl acetate) sheets or in cast resin in order to protect them from mechanical stress. In standard modules, the back side is usually covered by the aluminium- Tedler layer. Tedler is a trademark for polyvinyl fluoride (PVF). The aluminium- Tedler layer protects the modules from moisture and ensures cooling of the solar cells, due to its high conductivity. Glass is applied when the back side of the modules is desired to be transparent at the cost of reduced cooling of the solar cells and higher weight of the module.

Glass-Tedler modules typically are standard modules, produced in large quantities. They are mostly framed with aluminium for easier mounting; however, frameless glass-Tedler modules do exist. Frameless modules are called laminates.

Glass-Tedler modules typically are standard modules, produced in large quantities. They are mostly framed with aluminium for easier mounting; however, frameless glass-Tedler mo0dules to exist. Frameless modules are called laminates.

Glass-glass modules are mainly applied in building-integrated PV. There, they may be used as building element, for example, for awnings or structural glazing.

Standard PV modules are often classified as 12 or 24V Modules with 36 or 72 solar cells, respectively, in series. The MPP voltage of a crystalline silicon cell under STC is slightly less than 0.5V,as a consequence of appropriate doping. Consequently, the MPP voltage of such



modules under STC is a little less than 18 or 36V, respectively. Historically, these specifications became the standard case because such a module still exhibits a voltage, high enough to load a 12 or 24V battery, even in bad circumstances such as low irradiance and high cell temperature. In order to make sure that all solar cells in one string have the same MPP current, for module production solar cells are usually screened and sorted according to their efficiency or even their I-U curves [55].

If single solar cells inside a module are shadowed,

Figure (27): Schematic cross section of a photovoltic module assembly

They may become reverse-biased by the voltage of the remaining unshadowed cells of the series connection. In order to prevent shadowed cells from reverse bias and consecutive breakdown, each substring of typically 18 series-connected solar cells is equipped with an ant parallel diode. The so-called bypass diodes are usually situated in the terminal box at the module’s back side. A thorough literature review with regard to shadowing and the function of the bypass diodes is available in [56].

From a survey of the German market in 2003 it appears that the lion’s share of standard modules for grid-connected applications is rated in the range of 100 to 180Wp per module. The rating varies with the size and efficiency of the applied solar cells and the number of parallel cell strings within a module. The module efficiency under STC is roughly situated between 11 and 15%.

For power applications, photovoltaic modules are typically assembled in larger groups in order to provide the desired power rating at a specified DC voltage. In order to yield the required DC voltage, modules are first connected in series into strings of modules. Subsequently, strings of equal voltage rating can be connected in parallel to a DC bus in order to achieve the required rated power. The parallel connection of strings occurs in a generator junction box where the necessary safety equipment may also be located. The assembly of PV array is to be emphasized; the term PV generator is also applied.



Equivalent circuit and characteristics equation:

Figure (28): The equivalent circuit of a solar cell

Figure: The schematic symbol of a solar cell

To understand the electronic behavior of a solar cell, it is useful to create a model which is electrically equivalent, and is based on discrete electrical components whose behavior is well known. An ideal solar cell may be modeled by a current source in parallel with a diode; in practice no solar cell is ideal, so a shunt resistance and a series resistance component are added to the model. The resulting equivalent circuit of a solar cell is shown on the left. Also shown, on the right, is the schematic representation of a solar cell for use in circuit diagrams.

Characteristic equation

From the equivalent circuit it is evident that the current produced by the solar cell is equal to that produced by the current source, minus that which flows through the diode, minus that which flows through the shunt resistor:

I = IL − ID − ISH

where

I = output current (amperes) IL = photo generated current (amperes)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Solar_cell_equivalent_circuit.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Photovoltaic_cell.svg%00%E5%A1%B9%EF%92%81%E1%B4%BB%E4%A1%BF%E2%B2%AF%E5%B6%82%E8%97%84%E6%8C%A7%00%00%EA%AE%A5


ID = diode current (amperes)

ISH = shunt current (amperes)

The current through these elements is governed by the voltage across them:

Vj = V + IRS

Where

Vj = voltage across both diode and resistor RSH (volts) V = voltage across the output terminals (volts)

I = output current (amperes)

RS = series resistance (Ω)

By the Shockley diode equation, the current diverted through the diode is:

Where

I0 = reverse saturation current (amperes) n = diode ideality factor (1 for an ideal diode)

q = elementary charge

k = Boltzmann's constant

T = absolute temperature

At 25°C, volts.

By Ohm's law, the current diverted through the shunt resistor is:

Where

RSH = shunt resistance (Ω)



Substituting these into the first equation produces the characteristic equation of a solar cell, which relates solar cell parameters to the output current and voltage:

An alternative derivation produces an equation similar in appearance, but with V on the left-hand side. The two alternatives are identities; that is, they yield precisely the same results.

In principle, given a particular operating voltage V the equation may be solved to determine the operating current I at that voltage. However, because the equation involves I on both sides in a transcendental function the equation has no general analytical solution. However, even without a solution it is physically instructive. Furthermore, it is easily solved using numerical methods. (A general analytical solution to the equation is possible using Lambert's W function, but since Lambert's W generally itself must be solved numerically this is a technicality.)

Since the parameters I0, n, RS, and RSH cannot be measured directly, the most common application of the characteristic equation is nonlinear regression to extract the values of these parameters on the basis of their combined effect on solar cell behavior

Open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current:

When the cell is operated at open circuit, I = 0 and the voltage across the output terminals is defined as the open-circuit voltage. Assuming the shunt resistance is high enough to neglect the final term of the characteristic equation, the open-circuit voltage VOC is:

Similarly, when the cell is operated at short circuit, V = 0 and the current I through the terminals is defined as the short-circuit current. It can be shown that for a high-quality solar cell (low RS and I0, and high RSH) the short-circuit current ISC is:



Simple diagram of Electricity generation by Cell:

Fig (29): electricity generation from solar cell.

Sunlight irradiation causes electrons to separate from their atoms. Electron holes and electrons begin to move toward the P-N junction. When the electron holes come together at the P-n junction, voltage is generated. When the lead wires are connected, electricity is generated. [57]



2Review of Literature

Bangladesh is endowed with ample supply of renewable sources of energy. Thus, energy is not

a problem at all if alternative sources are used properly. According to Khalequzzaman (2007),

solar power uses sun's energy to produce electricity. Solar energy is plentiful in Bangladesh.

Generation of electricity using solar power is environmentally feasible. Development of solar

power should be a top priority for Bangladesh in the 21st century.

At present the national grid is serving only 50% of the nearly 10,000 rural markets and

commercial centers in the country which are excellent market for centralized solar photovoltaic

plants. Currently private diesel genset operators are serving in most of the off-grid rural

markets and it has been found that 82% of them are also interested in marketing SHS in

surrounding areas if some sorts of favorable financing arrangements are available [World Bank,

2000].

Islam and Islam (2005) said to their research that, throughout the country, different

government administrative offices, NGO offices, health centers, schools, banks, police stations

etc are functioning. In the off-grid locations, these offices are either using traditional means

(lantern, candles, kerosene wick lamps etc.) or operating their own diesel gensets. These offices

have separate budgets for electricity and they can be easily served with solar photovoltaic

applications.

On the other hand, Islam (2008) has mentioned in his research article that, Bangladesh holds

the potential to cost-effectively meet a significant fraction of its future electricity demand



through the use of renewable generation technologies, possibly adding as much renewable

capacity as the current overall electric power capacity of the country. Many parts of the country

have favorable solar conditions and there are many potentially cost-effective applications. Islam

also said in his article that, Bangladesh must develop a policy framework that allows and

encourages private investors to develop renewable energy projects in order to realize the

enormous potential of renewables. Bangladesh has got ample solar insolation throughout the

country. Daily average solar radiation varies between 4 to 6.5 kWh/m2. Maximum amount of

radiation is available on the month of March-April and minimum on December-January. There is

bright prospect for applications of solar thermal and photovoltaic systems in the country.

A solar PV system is an important emerging option to supply electricity with quality light,

reliable service, and long-term sustainability (Ibrahim, Anisuzzaman, and Kumar, 2002).Thus

from the above other researches, it is apparent that, solar energy has the potential to be widely

implemented if further researches are carried on.



3 Overview of the Present Power System

Since energy plays an important role in socio-economic development, the Government of

Bangladesh is giving priority in overall development of the energy sector. About 20% of the

total public sector investment was owed for the energy sector development during the last one

decade (NEP, 2004, p.1). The primary energy source is natural gas and the electricity generation

significantly relies on natural gas in Bangladesh.

3.1 Energy Status

About 80% of the installed electricity generation capacity is based on natural gas. In the year

2004-2005, the natural gas production was 13,783 MWh and the total installed electricity

generation capacity was 4995 MW (BBS, 2007, p.240). In the same fiscal year, the total

electricity generation was 22,006 million kWh and about 88.83% of the total generation used

natural gas as primary fuel (ibid, p. 241). In spite of government initiative, the per capita

commercial energy was 210 kg of oil equivalent (ADB, 2004, p.2). According to a published data

of the BPDP on June, 2006, 42.09% of the population has the access of grid electricity and per

capita electricity consumption is 162.92 kWh in Bangladesh. The per capita commercial energy

and electricity consumption in Bangladesh is one of the lowest among the developing countries.

3.2 Primary Commercial Energy Resources

The natural resources of Bangladesh comprises of natural gas, coal, peat, limestone, hard rock,

lignite, silica sand, white clay etc (Islam, 2001, p.10). Bangladesh has significant amount of

natural gas reserve and thereby among other commercial energy sources natural gas plays the

major role. The natural gas contributes about 70% of the overall commercial energy sources

and the rest comes from imported oil, coal and hydropower production (Draft NEP, 2006, p.1).

Bangladesh has natural gas reserve of about 14.607 TCF (BBS, 2007, p.9



http://www.bpdb.gov.bd/distribution.htm).The total coal and peat deposit are about 1750

million tons and 170 million tons respectively (Islam, 2001).

In 2002, the local production of natural gas meets the country’s demand but the coal and

petroleum products need to be imported from other countries in order to meet the local

demand. In the fiscal year 2004-2005, the consumption of natural gas, petroleum and coal was

456, 465 and 2 trillion BTU respectively (BBS, 2007, p.151).The domestic consumption of the

commercial energy in the same fiscal year was 163.43 trillion BTU (ibid, p. 252).

Bangladesh is endowed with rich solar potential, and sunlight is available throughout the year.

Bangladesh receives 900 X 1018 joules of solar energy annually and the availability of solar

energy per square meter is 193 W whereas the consumption per square meter is only 0.17 W

(Haq et al., 2005, p.3). This implies the abundance of solar energy in Bangladesh.

3.3 Status of Solar Energy1

The solar thermal energy is used in conventional ways for drying of washed clothes, food grains,

fish, vegetable, raw jute etc for centuries in Bangladesh. Locally this energy is also used for

evaporation of saline water for salt production in the coastal region. The long term average

sunshine data indicates that the bright sunshine is available for 3 to 11 hours daily in the coastal

region of Bangladesh. The solar radiation varies from 3.8 kWh/m²/day to 6.4 kWh/m²/day

throughout the country. According to these data, Bangladesh has high potential of solar

thermal and photovoltaic applications .This immense potential of solar energy provides an

opportunity for off-grid rural electrification through utilization of photovoltaic technology. The

conventional solar thermal applications are cooking, drying, hot water production and others.

Bangladesh is endowed with rich solar potential, and sunlight is available throughout the year.

Bangladesh receives 900 X 1018 joules of solar energy annually and the availability of solar

energy per square meter is 193 W whereas the consumption per square meter is only 0.17 W

(Haq et al., 2005, p.3). This implies the abundance of solar energy in Bangladesh. The monthly

solar radiation in different locations of Bangladesh is given in table 1.



Table 1: Monthly Solar Insulation at different locations of Bangladesh (in kWh/m²/day)

Month Dhaka Rajshahi Sylhet Bogra Barisal Jessore

January 4.03 3.96 4 4.01 4.17 4.25

February 4.78 4.47 4.63 4.69 4.81 4.85

March 5.33 5.88 5.2 5.68 5.3 4.5

April 5.71 6.24 5.24 5.87 5.94 6.23

May 5.71 6.17 5.37 6.02 5.75 6.09

June 4.8 5.25 4.53 5.26 4.39 5.12

July 4.41 4.79 4.14 4.34 4.2 4.81

August 4.82 5.16 4.56 4.84 4.42 4.93

September 4.41 4.96 4.07 4.67 4.48 4.57

October 4.61 4.88 4.61 4.65 4.71 4.68

November 4.27 4.42 4.32 4.35 4.35 4.24

December 3.92 3.82 3.85 3.87 3.95 3.97

Average 4.73 5 4.54 4.85 4.71 4.85

Source: Secondary,www.lged-rein.org/solar/solar_rerc. htm, printed 14.07. 2007

From the above table it is seen that maximum solar radiation is available from March to May

whereas minimum solar radiation is available during the month of December and January.

3.4 Common Application of PV technology for Rural Electrification

Bangladesh has a shortage of electricity generation and about 70% of the total population

doesn’t have access to electricity. For a developing country like Bangladesh it is not possible to

bring the whole country under a common grid network and moreover financially and

technically that is not feasible. In order to reduce harmful environmental effects of

conventional electricity generation different government organizations, NGOs and educational

institutions are engaged to promote diversified application of renewable energy for rural

electrification. Commercial application of PV started in Bangladesh in late eighties. The SHS is a

proven technology for off-grid electrification in rural areas in Bangladesh whereas the



centralized PV system is comparatively new concept of rural electrification. The application of

PV technology for rural electrification in Bangladesh is shown in the table 2.

Table 2: Application of PV for Rural Electrification in Bangladesh

Application of PV technology for rural areas Modes of electrification

1. Power supplies to remote villages

2. Lighting and power supplies for remote

buildings Battery charging stations

1. Stand alone solar home system

2. Centralized PV system

Source: Secondary, Rahman (2006), p.53

3.5 Organizations Engaged in Dissemination of PV technology

The heart of the solar PV system is the solar panel and in Bangladesh the solar panels for PV

applications are imported from other countries. However conventional storage batteries for

SHSs are produced by local manufacturers. But for large PV application like the centralized

system, storage batteries and inverters are imported from foreign countries. Most of the CCUs

for SHS applications are locally produced and few of them are imported from outside

Bangladesh. Different government, non-government organizations and educational institutions

are engaged in dissemination of PV technology in Bangladesh. In this section some of them who

plays major role in dissemination of PV technology in Bangladesh will be discussed.

3.5.1 Grameen Shakti

Grameen Shakti is one of the pioneer private organizations in the renewable energy sector in

Bangladesh. It was established in 1996 and the main motto of it is to promote, popularize and

disseminate renewable energy technology at an affordable price to the rural area of

Bangladesh. In order to promote renewable energy in rural areas, the Grameen Shakti has set

up unit offices in different parts of Bangladesh and so far it has 189 unit offices50. Till May,

2006 it has installed 65000 SHS with approximately 4, 00,000 beneficiaries and so far covered

20,000 villages and 11 remote islands in Bangladesh (ibid). Since SHS is comparatively expensive



technology therefore Grameen Shakti has introduced soft loan credit facilities for rural

consumers.

3.5.2 Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL)

IDCOL is a non bank financial institution which was incorporated as a public limited company on

14th May, 1997 with the assistance from the World Bank under Private Sector Infrastructure

Development Project. The primary objective of the company is to promote the significant

participation of the private sector in investment and operation, ownership and maintenance of

new infrastructure facilities. IDCOL has access to resources provided by the WB, GTZ, KfW, SNV-

Netherlands Development and the Government of Bangladesh (ibid). It promotes renewable

energy programs through 15 partner organizations (PO) and moreover provides technical,

logistic, promotional and training assistance to the POs. These POs are private organizations

who are engaged in dissemination of solar technology in Bangladesh. It supports the rural

electrification by means of SHS under the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy

Development Project (REREDP) (ibid). The REREDP is jointly financed by the IDA, GEF and KfW

and it has set a target of financing installation of 200,000 SHSs by 2009 (ibid). The SHSs are sold

(mostly through micro-credit) by POs to the households and business entities in the remote and

rural areas of Bangladesh (ibid). The IDCOL provides refinancing facility to the POs and channel

grants to reduce the SHSs costs (ibid). For installation of SHS, it promotes standard technical

specifications and approved equipment list for POs.

3.5.3 Rahim Afrooz

Rahim Afrooz solar is a sister organization of Rahim Afrooz group. It engages in projects related

to SHS installations and centralized PV system in Bangladesh. It provides equipments related to

PV system to different organizations in Bangladesh. Though it imports solar panels from foreign

countries but the RahimAfrooz battery, another sister organization manufactures batteries for

solar PV application and other purposes. It acted as a local agent for installation of the

centralized PV projects of the BPDB and LGED. It is so far the largest deep cycle battery provider

for SHS in Bangladesh. It contributes in dissemination of SHS in partnership with local NGOs.

Recently the Rahim Afroz Battery has introduced the battery recycling unit along with its



battery manufacturing plant. Therefore the batteries of the SHS installations can be recycled

after lifetime and this is the first battery recycling unit in Bangladesh.

3.5.4 Bangladesh Advancement Committee (BRAC)

BRAC is one of the pioneer organizations in dissemination of PV technology in Bangladesh. It

was established in 1972 and it launched solar energy program for sustainable development in

December, 1997. Until June 2004, the BRAC has installed SHSs of total 263.545 kWp capacities.

The future goals of the BRAC are to increase the number of SHS installations, implement solar

energy complex and solar energy institute.

3.5.5 Rural Electrification Board (REB)

The Rural Electrification Board has started its operation with the vision of rural electrification in

1978. It has successfully implemented the rural electrification program in Bangladesh through

consumer cooperative society called Palli Bidut Samati (PBS). Due to the initiatives of REB along

with the assistance from BPDB, people in the rural areas can enjoy the facilities of electricity

now. However in order to provide electricity to remote villages, islands, coastal areas, hilly

terrains and other inaccessible parts of the country, REB has executed decentralized mode of

power distribution like standalone SHS. So far the REB has taken the following solar

electrification projects in Bangladesh:

1. Diffusion of Renewable Energy Technologies (Pilot Project) – This project provided

electrification to Karimpur and Nazarpur unions of Narshingdi district by standalone and

central charging station based solar systems. The total system capacity of this project was

62 Wp and various loads like domestic, commercial, social institutions and health center

were connected to the system. Though after extension of grid electricity network most of

the consumers of that solar system took grid electricity and returned their systems which

are relocated in different PBSs. This project was funded by the GOB and French

Government.



2. Diffusion of Renewable Energy Technologies (2nd Phase) – This project will provide solar

electrification to Austogram, Shingra, Kotalipara, Moheshkhali and Kutubdia upzilla and St.

Martin islands. This is an ongoing project and is funded by the GOB and German

Government.

3. Rural Electrification through Solar Energy - This project has taken to provide electricity to

consumers of 6 PBS areas of REB. The consumer target has fixed to about 16,000. It’s an

ongoing project and it is funded by World Bank, IDA and GOB.

So far under the second and third projects REB has installed 1101 and 3415 SHSs respectively

up to April, 2007(Directorate of Renewable Energy, REB, Dhaka, 20.06.07).

3.5.6 Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED)

The Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED) started solar PV electrification

through UNDP supported Sustainable Environment Management Program (SEMP) and Japan

International Cooperation Agency (JICA) supported cyclone shelter project. The LGED started

Sustainable Rural Energy (SRE) project as a component of the SEMP of the Ministry of

Environment and Forest (SRE, LGED, 5.6.07).Under the cyclone shelter project the LGED

installed total 15.28 kWp capacities SHS at 1859 cyclone shelters in different coastal areas of

Bangladesh. Under the SRE project, the LGED installed total 2.625 kWp capacities solar home

lighting systems and two centralized PV systems (ibid). Besides that the LGED implemented the

solar lantern program for poor rural households under that project. In order to electrify the

remote islands like St. Martin, the LGED implemented 10 kW capacity solar-wind hybrid

installations under the SRE project (ibid).

3.5.7 Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB)

Bangladesh Power Development Board is the public organization engaged in generation,

transmission and distribution of electricity throughout Bangladesh and it established in 1972. It

contributes in utilization of PV technology for off-grid rural electrification especially in the



Chittagong hill tracts area. It has PV installations of around 150 kWp under the solar

electrification development program. This installed capacity includes SHS and centralized PV

system. It has a future plan of electrifying remote off-grid villages and islands through PV

technology in order to enhance electrification coverage in Bangladesh.



4 Reasons for Slow growth of Solar Energy System in Bangladesh

Solar power is not new to Bangladesh, since 1996 different companies have tried to market

solar energy systems to the public. Yet in a technologically backward country like Bangladesh

the idea took a fair while to gestate. Grameen Shakti likes to think of itself as one of the solar

pioneers in Bangladesh, having started operations in 1996 they found the reality of solar energy

difficult to deal with. The main hindrance behind slow expansion of the PV program is the very

high cost of the systems.

4.1 Obstacles of Expansion of PV Technology in Rural Areas

The major obstacles of rapid expansion of PV systems are as follows:

The problem with this technology is that the expectations almost always outweigh what

the systems could achieve. Most thought a simple system could power an entire

household quite easily. But after everything was explained thoroughly the main problem

of solar energy was its price.

The lack of awareness about the PV technology requires long time, effort and money to

familiarize the PV technology to the rural areas.

Private sector companies and NGOs may find it very difficult to cover the initial cost of

dissemination of the technology, the main hindrance bring the high cost of system due

to high price of the PV module in international market and imposition of government

taxes.

An alternative to reach large number of rural households could have been developed

with an easy financing system so that the buyers can pay the system price over a longer

period of time (for example, 5 to 7 years). The implementing agency automatically

requires soft fund to finance the customers, but source of soft finance is so far

nonexistent.



Usually people show a lot of enthusiasms for this new technology and a desire to

observe it more closely for a longer period. Many persons come forward to negotiate terms

under which they can procure a system for themselves. In fact, there was huge gap

between the financial affordability of rural people and the price of solar system. So, a

suitable marketing mechanism is always required to reduce the gap. Presently Grameen

Shakti is offering four types of solar systems for household use. The brief descriptions of

these are given in Table 3.

Table 3: Brief description of solar systems Types of Solar System Wp = Watt peak.

Types of SHS Usable Items Package Price (Tk.)

75 Wp 6 lamp (8 Watt each) and 1

B&W TV

34,500


B&W TV

22,000


B&W TV

17300


B&W TV

12500

Source: Secondary, Documents provided by Grameen Shakti

The Grameen Shakti program made a cost analysis of the SHS taking the price of system,

possible repairs, replacements, maintenance and depreciations. This led to several possible

marketing strategies to be piloted by the program. Table 4 indicates the pricing options of SHS.



Table 4: Pricing Options for solar system

Sl

No.

Types

of SHS

Cash-

package

price

(Tk.)

Down

payment

(TK.)

Loan

amount

(TK.)

Monthly

installment

amount (36

installment)

Monthly

installment

amount (24

installment)

Monthly

installment

amount (12

installment)

01 75 Wp 34,500 5,865 28,635 1,034 1,432 2,625

02 50 Wp 22,000 3,740 18,260 660 913 1674

03 40 Wp 17,300 2,941 14,359 519 718 1317

04 30 Wp 12,500 2,125 10,375 375 519 951

Source: Secondary, Documents provided by Grameen Shakti

4.2 Experience of Rural Electrification Board (REB) Project

(a) Customers prefer standalone system mainly due to higher quantity of energy available from

the system and for convenience; batteries need not to be brought to the charging station;

(b) Customers prefer relatively larger system (46 Wp and above);

(c) Charging stations may be considered as a failure. Customers do not like to frequently charge

batteries from charging stations. It is very inconvenient to bring batteries from far flung

areas. Many batteries have been damaged due over discharge.



5 Socio Economic Impact of Solar Energy

Socio-economic development is the process of social and economic development in a society,

which is measured with indicators, such as GDP, life expectancy, literacy and levels of

employment. The electricity makes a significant impact on rural community from socio-

economic perspective. Among different aspects of socio-economic impacts of rural

electrification, some aspects are highlighted in this study.

Besides electrification other basic infrastructure development is necessary for positive

socioeconomic impact on rural community. The degree of impact varies with the location of the

study area, availability of basic infrastructure and mode of electrification in the local

community.

In this case the authors wanted to quantify the socio economic impact that solar energy usage

has on Bangladeshi society, especially the rural one.

5.1 Lighting Facilities Before and After SHS

Lighting and entertainment facilities usually available i n a t y p i c a l v i l l a g e before

using the solar home systems in the study villages are given in the Table 5.1. It is shown

that 35% of respondents are using some sort of kerosene lamps for their household

lighting. On the other hand, 40% of the users use dry cell batteries for torch lights and

radios. For watching TV, 15% of the participants use car batteries.



Table 5: Lighting and Entertainment Facilities before the SHS

Study AreaKerosene

Lamp

Dry cell

Battery

Kerosene

Pressure

Car

Battery

Wick &

KeroseneLamp

Niz Mawna(Village) 39 36 - 9 6Micro Enterprise 3 2 5 - 3

Barabo 9 8 - 3 1Total Respondent 51 46 5 12 10% of Respondent 77 70 8 18 15

Source: Secondary, Mondal (2005)

After the solar home system installation, the scenario changed. Nobody was using kerosene

pressure lamps and car batteries for lighting and entertainment purposes. Reduction of

Kerosene was the main impact of the solar home system that results less pollution, less

darkness, less hassle and in addition less work for cleaning kerosene lamps as well. Charging

of the car batteries was more time consuming with respect to present situation whether

charging was being done automatically remained connected with TV. Dry cell batteries were

still common in use at night for torch lights to facilitate communication. Among the

respondents, 5% were still habituated with kerosene lamps for lighting purposes in whole

night.

5.2 Impact on Lifestyle

The daily working activities changed after introducing of solar home systems in the

stated study areas. Better quality of light provided opportunities for studying and refreshment

as well as gossiping activities, for watching TV or listening to broadcast information and

entertainment by the radio. It is shown from the Table 5.3 that at present children could study

additional two and half (2.5) hours with this facility. Three household respondents made their

opinion that their children’s performance of study was better than previous. On the other

hand, all respondents remarked that their evening working hours were extended.



Table6: Number of Hours/day for Social Activities before and after SHS

Social ActivitiesNumber of Hours per Day

Before SHS After SHS Change

TV watching 2 4/5 + 2/3

Listening radio 2 3 +1

Children 1.5 4 + 2.5

Sewing 0 2 + 2

Chatting 0 2 + 2

Sleeping time 8/9 6/7 - 2

Source: Mondol (2005)

5.3 Income Generation Activities, Poverty, and Income Distribution

There is a positive relation between the income generation and the exposure of people to sources

of power in the rural areas. Income generation activities are created after acquiring the solar home

systems in villages. The people engaged in doing business using traditional fuel now switch to solar

light that results in more development of their business than before. Medical pharmacies in and

mobile phone service centers are established due to installation of solar home systems. Tailoring

machines are bought to earn some money.

Women become involved with income generation activities. Grocery shop owners who were

using kerosene lamps for their business get working hours extended due to SHS.

As more and more income generating facilities and opportunities are created due to the

introduction of solar energy in villages, solar energy has the potential to reduce poverty

in rural areas. It can also play a role in balancing income distribution in a great way in a

given village.



Table 7: Income Generation Activity Hours Before and After the SHS

Income Generation ActivitiesNumber of Hours

Before SHS After SHS Change

Sewing 0 1 + 1

Tailoring (HH) 0 2 + 2

Tailoring (Shop) 3 4 + 1

Mobile phone business 0 12 + 12

Grocery shop (Used Kerosene lamp) 2 4 + 2

Grocery shop (Used Pressure Lamp) 3 4 + 1

Furniture shop 1 3 + 2

Pharmacy 0 3 + 3

Source: Secondary, Mondal (2005)

5.4 Impact on Household Assets

Households acquire color television after the solar home system installation (Table 5.5).

Radio and cassette increases after the solar system installation. Mobile phone uses

increases. Most popular item for the households is television. After installation of solar

home system, in a survey by Md. Alam Hossain Mondal, the individual household TV

increased to 52%, meaning that buying rate of TV was increased by 41%. Mobile phone was

another interesting item for communication. Network was not available in the study

villages, but eight of the SHS users out of total surveyed people were using mobile phones

by using small antenna for getting network and they used the solar facility for charging.

The telecommunication system was improved significantly due to SHS. In the rural area,

people could communicate with their near and dear easily. The respondent could know the

news of the country by watching TV and listening to radio.



5.5 Impact on Literacy and Education

Solar energy in households like any other form of energy enhances opportunities for connecting to the

world and education. People in a electrified village is much more prone to be educated as they learn to

become more competitive by gaining access to developed areas. And solar energy helps people in study

related areas in more than one can think of.



6 Prospect of Solar System in Bangladesh

6.1 Government Initiative2

Government strategy emphasizes promoting off-grid options in areas that are unsuitable for

grid expansion. It has made a good start by eliminating import duty on SHS in April 2000. The

strategy emphasizes the pivotal role of well functioning rural systems for the Government’s off

grid promotion strategy and endorses the approach to use well-functioning rural community

based organizations (CBOs) to leverage grass-roots reach and establish credibility to improve

electricity provision significantly.

The objective of this Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project is to contribute to

sustainable development through the provision of renewable solar electricity to households not

connected to the electricity grid and thereby reduce the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by

displacing kerosene and diesel use for lighting and off-grid electricity generation.

The project will contribute to the sustainable development of Bangladesh with a particular

emphasis on the rural population, which is generally poorer. In addition to reducing GHG

emissions, the project would have significant other social, economic and environmental

benefits. Bank’s involvement in supporting this project is therefore considered highly

appropriate.

The project envisages installing 929,169 SHSs all across Bangladesh between 2007 and 2015.

The SHS will provide facilities for lighting, TV and radio and comprise of: (a) a Solar Module (10

to 120wp); (b) battery (47 Ah to 130 Ah); (c) Charge Controller; (d) fluorescent tube lights with

special electronic ballasts; (e) mounting structure; (f) installation kit; and (g) cables and

connecting devices. The capacity of individual SHS will vary according to consumer choice and

demand. The cost of SHS would be recovered through monthly installments over a period of up

to 4 years which will be within the affordable capacity of the targeted consumers.

2 Bangladesh’s Solar Energy by Gordon Feller, Urban Age Institute, January 18


http://www.urbanage.org/


Upon full implementation in year 2015, the project activity will replace 20,075 kilolitres per

annum of kerosene usage, equivalent to an emissions reduction of 48,380.75 tones CO2 per

annum and 16,600,500 KWh/ year of electricity generation using diesel generators.

The project will be implemented by Grameen Shakti (GS) which develops, introduces and

popularizes renewable energy technologies for sustainable energy solutions, particularly Solar

PV systems, aiming to reduce poverty, improve living standards and protect the environment.

Over the last decade GS has installed about 77,000 SHS with combined capacities of 15.8 MW

and more than 1,650 SHSs are installed each month. It has also set up 120 offices for service

delivery and performance monitoring, and has a research unit for improvement of the overall

efficiency of the system and ancillaries. GS is currently serving more than 275,000 beneficiaries

through its 120 offices spread over 58 districts of Bangladesh.

6.2 Status of Application of PV Technology in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, the applicability of standalone SHS is more than others. The remote and

scattered clusters of rural households make the SHS more appropriate for electrification.

IDCOL is the main financing organization in the renewable energy sector and it contributes in

dissemination of renewable technology through partner organizations in Bangladesh. So far

116,448 SHSs have been installed by different NGOs throughout Bangladesh and a target of

installation of 200,000 SHSs will be implemented by the year 2009. Besides NGOs, government

organizations like the REB have installed 3521 SHSs in Bangladesh under different renewable

energy projects26. Till January, 2005, the total PV installation capacity of the Bangladesh Power

Development Board (BPDP) was 56 kWp in the Chittagong hill tracts region and it is expected to

install around 150 kWp in near future. The Local Government and Engineering Department

(LGED) so far installed 35.6 kWp solar installations in Bangladesh. It is to be mentioned that for

both the BPDB and LGED, the total PV installations include various applications like SHS,

centralized solar electrification, solar water pumping and others. The centralized solar

electrification programs are implemented by some government organizations with the



assistance from donor organizations. So far six centralized solar electrification projects were

implemented in Bangladesh and they were implemented by the BPDB and LGED. These projects

were implemented to determine the viability of the centralized PV technology for remote rural

electrification.

6.3 Potential market for PV technology

Bangladesh has a potential market for utilization of PV technology for off-grid electrification

purposes. According to a market survey (funded by World Bank) in 1998, there is an existing

market size of 0.5 million households for SHSs on a fee-for-service basis in the off-grid areas of

Bangladesh. In most of the developing countries it has been observed that households spend

no more than 5% of their income for lighting and usage of small appliances. According to that

about 4.8 million rural households in Bangladesh could pay for a solar home system. It is

estimated that 10,000 rural markets and commercial centers which are about 50% of all rural

markets in the country are electrified by conventional grid electricity. The centralized PV system

has good electrification potential for the off-grid rural markets and commercial centers. In off-

grid rural markets and commercial centers, the electricity is mainly provided from private

owned diesel generator operators and it has been found that 82% of them are interested in

marketing SHS in surrounding areas if favorable financing arrangements are available (World

Bank, 2000). Different government and non-government offices, health centers, schools, banks,

police stations etc in the off-grid areas use traditional means of lighting like lantern, candles,

kerosene wick lamps etc or they have their own diesel generator set. These offices have

separate budgets for electricity which can be used for electrification through PV technology.

The estimated short to midterm market potential of the PV technology in Bangladesh is about

60 MW. This estimation considers the various applications of PV technology like pumping,

signaling, telecommunication besides conventional rural electrification. The chart 1 shows the

relative distribution of the projected existing market for SHS within the administrative divisions

of Bangladesh.



Source: Khan et al. (2005), p. 98

Chart 1: Projection of the SHS Market in Bangladesh

The estimation of market potential is based on operating experience of other developing

countries like India, Sri Lanka where PV technology is techno-economically attractive for

different applications irrespective of high initial cost of solar installations. This market potential

is determined on short to midterm basis however the actual market potential is dependent on

the price of the solar PV system. The commercialization and widespread application of solar

electrification depend on the potential of the market in the context of socio-economic

condition, attitude and preference of people and above all the energy usage pattern in the rural

area.



7 Impact of Further Growth in Solar Energy Sector on Present Power

Distribution System

Today’s Bangladesh is featured with load shedding problem and now, people in Bangladesh are

living with some worst load shedding memories. As Bangladesh is a densely populated country,

things should have been changed before any depressing thing emerges. Though solar power is

not new in Bangladesh, people yet are not using it as a pure alternative of load shedding

problem. In Bangladesh, Grameen Shakti is popular for awareness and implementation of solar

power in some rural areas.

In Bangladesh, power demand amounts to 5500 megawatt unofficially and 4600 megawatt

officially. But the power plant under Power Development Board (PDB) can generate only

around 3600 megawatt (mw).Now, with the gas crisis, the PDB cannot generate 500 to 800

mw.Earlier in April 2009, PDB had all the gas supply it needed and it could generate a record

4200 mw power just for one day. It has been proved by many researches that Bangladesh is not

suitable for wind or coal power because of high cost. Thus solar power is the only

alternative(Power Failure; Weekly Publications of Daily Star, April 17,2009).

According to the interview with Grameen Shakti, it has been revealed that, initially, people

were simply interested in how the sun could provide electricity but now, with different

awareness program generation, from 1996 to till now, Grameen Shakti has been successful to

make people understand and thus is succeeded in installing solar power system in many rural

areas of Bangladesh. From the secondary sources provided by Grameen Shakti, following

statistics about installation of solar home system has been found.



Source: Secondary Data provided by Grameen Shakti

Chart 2: Growth of Solar Users

According to the above graph, up to 2008, cumulatively more than 0.2 million solar home

system has been installed in rural areas of Bangladesh. According to Grameen Shakti, solar

home system (SHS) is very popular in market place as micro utility.50 Watt systems can rent

lights to 3 more shops. Also, SHS helps to replace kerosene. A 40 watt system can replace about

20 Tk. kerosene cost per day. Average installments are per month Tk515.

To promote solar energy among rural people, different organization such as Brac, RahimAfrooz

is coming forward with SHS program. Following graph shows the number and name of

organizations installed solar system in different areas.



Source: www.reein.org.mht

Chart 3: Market Share of Solar Energy Providers

With a view to developing renewable energy resources to meet 5% of total power demand by

2015 and 10% by 2020,Bangladesh government has already declared solar panel as duty free in

the upcoming budget of 2009-2010.Government in every year has been providing facilities so

that people can use solar energy. Following graph shows the number of SHS installed in

different divisions of Bangladesh up to December 2008. Thus, though not million or billions of

SHS yet, current number of SHS installation is providing backup to the current power demand

as the country’s population is increasing


http://www.reein.org.mht/


Source: www.reein.org.mht

Chart 4: Division wise installations of SHSs (21 December 2008)

From the above graphs, it is clear that, using solar energy is getting importance and day by day,

the number of installation is increasing.Dipal Chandra Barua, managing director,Grameen

Shakti said that, it is his dream to empower 75 million people through renewable energy

technologies and Grameen Shakti has selected its vision for 2015 which includes a whopping 7.5

million solar home system to be installed and a massive 100,000 green jobs to be created(Our

Solar Solution?; Weekly Publications of Daily Star, May 15,2009).

Further growth in the solar energy sector has a great impact on the present power system in

Bangladesh. Solar power system is lessening the burden on gas, fulfilling country’s power

demand and decreasing the amount of other resource consumption such as kerosene. Solar

power can be used to electrify computer centres and other workplace also. Solar power is

harmless for environment and human being. Thus the further growth of solar system may

reduce this massive load shedding by providing harmless continuous energy supply. If not full,

the solar energy system installation can meet almost half of the electricity demand in

Bangladesh which is the urgent need for the country. Another thing is, solar energy is

renewable means as sun is not a miser in disseminating its light. Thus there will be no shout for

electricity one day if our country can implement a Solar Bangladesh Concept as Mr. Dipal

Barua’s dreams will come true.


http://www.reein.org.mht/


8 Conclusion and Recommendation

Providing electricity for meeting lighting needs of households and rural markets can bring

several positive impacts including improvement of quality of life and increasing in income and

employment opportunities. So, rural electrification through solar energy is a model to the

users is that they are free from the responsibility of maintaining the system. The risk of the

whole system has been avoided with the involvement of local community in management.

Demonstration of solar energy system has been successful to create interest among the rural

people and demand from other location also observed.

Following are the recommendations that might be applied for smooth growth of rural

electrification through solar energy:

Rural people in Bangladesh are not aware of the solar energy technology. Therefore

demonstration is necessary to reach the information to this group.

Appropriate financial arrangement is necessary for the rural people to afford the system.

This may include payment in installment, fee for services and other suitable modes.

Users training has great impact as the users can do trouble shooting of minor

problems like replacing fuse, adding distilled water, replacing bulbs etc. This may avoid

technician call and increase system reliability.

Solar systems with different options should be available to the consumers so that they can

choose themselves according to their demand.

Technician training is essential for ensuring the local technical support as well as to make

the project sustainable.

Women also should be invited for training, as they are the main users of the systems.

They can also pay attention for maintenance.

Components/accessories of solar systems should be locally available so that the users can

buy them easily when required. This can increase acceptability of the technology to the

users.



References

Journals and Articles1. Ahammed, F. & Taufiq, D.A. (2008). Case Study: Applications of Solar PV on Rural

Development in Bangladesh. Journal of Rural Community Development 3, 93–103.

2. Akter, N. (1997). Alternative Energy Situation in Bangladesh, A Country Review. Journal

of BRAC, Research and Evaluation Division, 1-15.

3. Barua, C.D., Urmee, T.P., Kumar, S., & Bhattacharya S. (2001). A photovoltaic solar home

system dissemination model. Progress in Photovoltaic Research and Applications, 9,

313–322.

4. Islam, A.K.M.S & Islam,M.(2005).Status of Renewable Technologies in Bangladesh.

Journal of ISESCO Science and Technology Vision, 1, 51-60.

5. Islam, M. (2008).Assessment of Renewable Energy Resources of Bangladesh, EBook

Journal, 1, 1-51.

6. Khalequzzaman, M. (2007). The Energy Challenge for 21st Century Bangladesh. Short

Note, Expatriate Bangladeshi 2000, Inc.

7. Mondol, A.H. (2005). Technical and Socio-economic Aspects of Selected Village Based

Solar Home Systems in Gazipur District, Bangladesh, Journal of SESAM (Sustainable

Energy Systems and Management International Institute of Management),M.Sc.

Thesis, University of Flensburg, Germany

8. Rahman, T. (2006). Solar PV Applications. Proceedings of the short course on renewable

energy technologies, 40–60. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Bangladesh University of Engineering

and Technology, Center for Energy Studies.

9. World Bank, (2000). “Feasibility Study for a Solar Home Systems Project within the

Context of Alternative Options for Rural Electrification”, Final Report, Dhaka,

Bangladesh.



Appendix 1Interview Questionnaire

1. Why and how does the organization arrive to implement solar energy program in

Bangladesh?

2. When and where did the organization first start the implementation of solar energy

program?

3. What is the term used for commercial application of solar energy?

4. What are the utilities of solar energy available in Bangladesh?

5. Currently, in how many areas do the solar energy project implemented? What is the

number of users in Bangladesh?

6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using solar energy?

7. What are the other organizations implementing solar energy program?

8. Do the organizations get any subsidy from government?

9. Is Bangladesh a proper place for implementing solar energy program? Why or why not?

10. Please recommend about the future prospect of solar energy in Bangladesh.
