Dhaka: Prime Minister’s Finance and Planning Adviser Dr. Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir on Sunday declared that the nation’s energy system had been monopolized by few oligarchs through a state-sponsored political economy during the 16 years of the previous government. He emphasized that the current administration is committed to fostering an equality-based society by involving citizens in energy system innovations and promoting clean energy adoption. This statement was made at a seminar and joint press briefing titled “Distributed Renewable Energy: The Future Solar Solution for Bangladesh” hosted at the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) auditorium in the capital.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the event was organized by ERF in association with the Distributed Renewable Energy Platform (DREP). Dr. Titumir urged for a nationwide social movement to enhance the use of clean energy, focusing on three main areas: increasing social awareness for environmental protection through clean energy, generating public demand for renewables, and using microfinance institutions to install small-scale solar panels in rural regions. He stressed that demonstrating solar energy’s practical applications, such as for cooking, could encourage widespread adoption of solar solutions.
Dr. Titumir assured that the government is creating favorable conditions for establishing solar panel and storage battery manufacturing plants within Bangladesh, aiming to make solar power more affordable. He reiterated that the government operates “for the people and by the people,” underscoring the importance of innovation and public involvement in overcoming challenges across sectors.
The seminar, moderated by Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Coordinator of DREP, began with remarks from ERF General Secretary Abul Kashem. Various thematic presentations were made by platform partners, including discussions on challenges faced by EPCs and industry actors, the role of awareness in adopting DRE technologies, the importance of storage in the future of DRE, and financing challenges for DRE expansion.
Md Mehadi Hasan Shamim, Research Associate at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), also participated as a presenter and discussant. During the event, DREP launched a new public resource website titled “Renewables in Bangladesh.” DREP is a collaborative initiative hosted under The Sunrise Project, involving CPD, ActionAid Bangladesh, SOLshare, BSREA, and CLEAN, with the goal of enhancing policies and institutional mechanisms for distributed renewables in the country.
Key recommendations from the seminar targeted the residential, industrial, and solar irrigation sectors, as well as adoption and retention strategies. For the residential sector, reforms included simplifying net metering eligibility, establishing green financing facilities, and repowering legacy Solar Home Systems. The industrial sector recommendations focused on building a RESCO collateral framework and streamlining green refinancing schemes. Solar irrigation proposals included shifting to shared ownership models and expanding net metering for surplus power sales. Adoption strategies emphasized forming a national DRE coordination body and establishing real-time monitoring systems.