New Era | Bangladesh should shift to cost-effective renewable energy: a discussion

Speakers during Saturday’s discussion said Bangladesh should switch to renewable energy sources as soon as possible to ensure sustainable energy supply at a reasonable price.

Despite the country’s acute land shortage, there are some potential sources of renewable energy, energy experts, researchers and activists said at the 2nd Dhaka Lecture on Renewable Energy and Finance in 2024.

The NGO Change Initiative, in collaboration with several other organizations, organized the event at the Bangabandhu Military Museum in the capital.

Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Saber Hossain Chowdhury said that Bangladesh is not a carbon emitter but Bangladesh will switch to renewable energy for its own benefits.

Bangladesh currently produces 4 to 4.5 percent of its total renewable energy but emits very little.

“Yes, we will switch to renewable energy using cutting-edge technology because we have time for the transformation,” he said, adding that irrigation pumps represent a potential field to exploit and negate solar energy.

“Converting irrigation pumps to renewable energy will save 5,000 megawatts of electricity,” he said.

He also said: “We encourage the private sector to invest in renewable energy projects. The government has set a goal of generating 40% of electricity from renewable sources by 2041. This goal is crucial to ensuring energy security, economic growth and environmental sustainability.

Change Initiative executive director M. Zakir Hossain Khan said renewable energy is economically viable and a future potential energy source that has already slowed the spread of fossil fuels.

Sustainable Renewable Energy Development Authority chairwoman Munira Sultana admitted that renewable energy is cheap, but the cost of installing it is high.

Speakers said national or international funding for renewable energy exists but is difficult to mobilize.

They demanded that the barriers be removed.

Speakers at the event included UAE Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdulla Ali Abdulla Khaseif AlHmoudi, Research Director of Alternative Law Collective Zain Moulvi, Planning Commission Member for Industry and Energy Dr. Mustafizur Rahman and Dean of Faculty of Business and Economics of East West University AK Enamul Haque.