Nasrul Hamid, the State Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, stated Monday, 8th May, that a coordinated plan and major expenditure are required for the shift to green energy.
“The developed world, including Europe, is moving towards renewable energy. We also need to increase the use of renewable energy,” he said while addressing 2024 Policy Dialogue on Sweden-Bangladesh Partnership in Renewable Energy within the RMG Sector at a Dhaka hotel.
The Swedish Embassy, Swedish Energy Agency and Sweden-Bangladesh Business Council jointly organised the event.
According to the State Minister, Bangladesh is striving to enhance and broaden its utilisation of renewable energy in line with the global shifts.
“Efforts to provide clean electricity to businesses are continuing through net metering systems, rooftop solar, import of hydropower, and increased use of energy efficient appliances,” he stated.
According to him, the Power Division has already created a draft “Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA)” framework to supply firms, particularly those in the garment industry, with electricity produced from renewable energy. These CPPAs will first be signed on a trial basis with a few factories.
According to him, the CPPA will mandate the continuous use of renewable energy, necessitating a large amount of storage capacity. As a result, he added, the usage of the storage facility will drive up the cost of electricity.
“Finally, we need to move to a smart grid. There should also be a policy on these additional costs and technology costs,” he observed.
According to him, Bangladesh must compete more effectively to survive, much as Vietnam and Sri Lanka focus on efficiency, automation, and business environments in their commercial dealings.
Among others, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh Ambassador Charles Whiteley, Ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh Alexandra Berg von Linde, Chairman of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) Md. Mahabubur Rahman and Country Manager of H&M Ziaur Rahman spoke on the occasion.
