Energy scarcity and potential of renewable energy in Bangladesh

P.K. Halder a,n, N. Paul b, M.U.H. Joardder c, M. Sarker d

a Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Jessore University of Science and Technology, Jessore 7408, Bangladeshb Institute of Appropriate Technology, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladeshc School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane QLD-4001, Australiad Waste Technologies, LLC (WTL), 1376 Chopsey Hill Road, Bridgeport CT-06606, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 28 January 2015Received in revised form14 May 2015Accepted 11 July 2015

Keywords:Energy crisisRenewable energyRETsBangladesh

a b s t r a c t

Energy is one of the indispensable inputs for the survival of human being in the earth. Bangladesh hasthe very inadequate amount of indigenous non-renewable energy resources even which is beingdiminished rapidly to increase the electricity generation. Although the installed electricity generationcapacity has been increased to 10,709 MW, still the amount is insufficient to meet the demand of thecountry. In addition to this, the insufficient power generation hinders the socio-economic and industrialdevelopment. This current problem in power generation of Bangladesh can be removed by incorporatingrenewable energy into electricity generation. Recently, utilization of renewable energy and RenewableEnergy Technologies (RETs) is getting momentum in the country to achieve not only energy security butalso to reduce environmental pollution and to limit the imminent depletion of the non-renewableenergy resources. Overall, Bangladesh has the vast potential of biomass, solar, hydro, wind, and tidalpowers. This paper outlines the present energy scenario of the country. Following this, the potential ofavailable renewable energy resources is also reviewed and presented in this paper.

& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16362. Bangladesh at a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1637

2.1. Geographical location of Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16372.2. Population and other information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1637

3. Energy status in Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16373.1. Energy and economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16373.2. Energy demand and consumption pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16383.3. Present electricity scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1640

4. Prominent renewable energy resources in Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16404.1. Biomass energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16404.2. Solar energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16424.3. Hydro energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16434.4. Wind energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1644

5. Other probable renewable energy resources in Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16476. Recent achievement and future target in renewable energy development in Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16477. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1648References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1648

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.0691364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

n Corresponding author. Tel.: þ88 1913597592.E-mail address: pobitra.halder@gmail.com (P.K. Halder).

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649

1. Introduction

Enough energy supply is the pivotal obligation for the overalldevelopment and improvement of the lifestyle of human being in anycountry in this modern era. The global energy requirement is increas-ing sharply due to increase in population and technological develop-ment. The energy consumption of the world reached 12,730.4 mil-lion tons oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2013, almost double that was6629.8 Mtoe in 1980 [1]. Among the energy sources, oil accounts forthe highest percentages (32.9%) of share followed by coal (30.1%).

It is expected that the global energy demand would increase byfive times of the current demand by 2100 [2]. Recently, about three-fourth of the world's energy is produced from fossil sources [3]. Theway of utilizing fossil fuels without incorporating renewable energyresources and technologies will ultimately deplete these sources [4].The burning of fossil fuel significantly contributes to CO2 emission thatis directly responsible for climate change and greenhouse effect. Theaverage amount of lifecycle CO2 generation during electricity produc-tion from coal is about 888 t CO2e/GWh followed by oil and naturalgas, which is about 733 and 499 t CO2e/GWh respectively [5].

Therefore, the global warming and greenhouse effect are consideredas the major concerns and challenges to attain the sustainability in theworld [6–8]. Moreover, these problems and shortage of fossil fuelstimulate the country and society to alter the energy policy towardsalternative energy sources [9]. Therefore, energy policies have beenrevised considering renewable energy as the new source of sustainableenergy to meet the world's increasing energy demand [10–14].

In Bangladesh, indigenous commercial energy such as natural gas,oil, and coal are the main contributing sources in primary energyconsumption. The primary energy consumption was raised to26.7 Mtoe in 2013 that is almost double from 14.8 Mtoe in 2002 [1].However, the country has very limited amount of these energysources. She had only 1063 million tons of recoverable coal reserveand 9.7 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of proved natural gas reserve at the endof 2013 [1,15]. Furthermore, the country has to import about 1.2milliontons crude oil and 2.6 million tons refined petroleum products eachyear to meet its liquid fuel demand [16]. In the year 2013, Bangladeshconsumed almost 21.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 5.7 milliontons of oil, and 1.0 Mtoe of coal. The petroleum reserve in the countryis only 8% of the total demand. On the other hand, only 6% of the totalpopulation has the facility of natural gas connection. Electricitydemand in Bangladesh has increased dramatically, and the productionentirely depends on fossil fuel. Furthermore, the electricity generationcontributes almost 40% of the total CO2 emissions in the country [17].The maximum electricity generation in the country has increased to7418MW against a demand of 9268MW in 2014. This huge gapbetween the total generation and demand effectively hinders theeconomic and technological development of the country. From nowon, the government of Bangladesh (GOB) has already taken initiatives

to develop and promote renewable energy sources to mitigate energycrisis and environmental impacts.

Bangladesh has a plentiful supply of renewable energy res-ources that could be the effective way to meet the increasing energydemand. Among the available renewable resources, biomass is con-sidered as the major one for a supplement of fossil fuels that can beused not only for rural cooking purpose but also in producingelectricity. The geographical location of the country ensures themaximum utilization of solar energy. Thus, solar photovoltaic (PV) isbecoming a popular technology mainly in off-grid rural, hill tracks, andcoastal area in Bangladesh. Although the wind and hydropower arenot much widespread, some government and non-government orga-nizations (NGO) have taken several initiatives for producing electricityfrom micro-hydro and small wind turbine. Therefore, renewableenergy utilization in Bangladesh can play a crucial role to attainenergy security.

All the data were collected from thesis, journal articles, conferenceproceedings, web materials, reports, books, handbooks on energy anddirect interview of personnel of various organizations implementingrenewable programs. The paper is arranged as follows: Section 2discusses the geographical location and other related information ofBangladesh. Section 3 presents the current energy scenario and policyof Bangladesh. Following this, the potential of available and probablerenewable energy resources in Bangladesh has been discussed inSections 4 and 5. Finally, the achievement and future target in therenewable energy sectors have been mentioned in Section 6.

2. Bangladesh at a glance

2.1. Geographical location of Bangladesh

Bangladesh, a south-Asian low income country is locatedbetween 201 340 and 261 380 north latitude and 881 010 and 921410 east longitude with an area of 147,570 km2 [18]. The countryhas 7 divisions: Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Barisal, Sylhet,Khulna, and Rangpur. The country is surrounded by India on thewest, north, and northeast while by Myanmar on the south-eastand the Bay of Bengal on the south. Among the three majorlandscapes, only floodplains occupy about 80% of land whereashills occupy about 12%, and terraces occupy about 8% [19]. Theplain land of the country is delta shape. Except the hilly regions inthe northeast, most of the low, flat, and fertile lands of the countryare mainly used for cultivation and settlement.

2.2. Population and other information

Bangladesh is a 9th largest country in theworld by populationwith158.5 million people at the end of year 2014 [20]. The density ofpopulation in the country has increased dramatically from 704.75 per-son/km2 in 1990 to 1074.07 person/km2 in 2014. The country has 32.1million households distributed in over 59,229 mauzas. The literacyrate and the life expectancy in the year 2014 are about 58.8% and 71.10years respectively [20]. Agriculture is the major occupation for liveli-hood in Bangladesh due to its fertile land and over 60% of thepopulations are directly related to this occupation. The industrialsector in the country is flourishing due to its plentiful naturalresources, low-cost labor, and business friendly environment.

3. Energy status in Bangladesh

3.1. Energy and economy

In today's world, the development index of any country is synon-ymous with the pattern of energy supply and consumption. However,

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Mto

e

Fig. 1. Primary energy consumption trend in Bangladesh [1].

P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649 1637

Bangladesh has the lowest per capita primary energy consumptionwithin the Indian subcontinent. In 2011, per capita primary energyconsumption in Bangladesh was about 205 kilogram oil equivalent(kgoe) whereas it was 614 kgoe in India, 482 kgoe in Pakistan,383 kgoe in Nepal, and 499 kgoe in Sri Lanka [21]. It is noticeablethat country's per capita average consumptionwas considerably lowerthan Asia's average value of 640 kgoe and far below the world'saverage of 1680 kgoe. Although the primary energy consumption hasincreased by 2.69% from the previous year 2012 to 2013, it remainsone of the lowest in the world. The increasing trend of primary energyconsumption in Bangladesh is illustrated in Fig. 1 [1].

Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the economic devel-opment and standard of living of a country that is greatly affectedby the level of energy consumption. It is estimated that 1%increase in per capita energy consumption causes an increase inper capita GDP by 0.23% [22]. Nevertheless, in the year 2012–2013,the GDP growth rate of Bangladesh about 6.8% was lower com-pared to the other countries in the world. The growth rate has toincrease to 10% by 2021 for attaining the prosperity and economicstability of the country [23]. Agriculture, industry and servicesectors are the prime contributors to country's economy. However,in the year 2013, only service sector contributes almost half of thetotal GDP share [24]. Now-a-days, the share of agriculture sector inGDP is decreasing due to rapid diminishing of agricultural land,meanwhile the contribution of service sector and industry sector isincreasing due to urbanization and revolutionary progress inbusiness and commerce.

3.2. Energy demand and consumption pattern

In Bangladesh, all the people fulfill their primary energyrequirements from fossil fuels. In this modern era, the need forenergy in every sector is growing rapidly. The energy demand in

Energydemand

Domestic cooking,parboiling

Amusement/leisure

Lighting

AgriculturalResidues

Bio-gas

KeroseneNonresidential,process heat

Space heating orcooling

Motive power/traction/

transport/pump

Coal

Gas, LPG, CNG

Petroleum fuels

Animal dung

Tree biomass

Draught power

Electricity

Domestic gasfields

Agriculture

Domestic mines

Livestock

Home, village,conventional

forest

Import

Grid, PVs,batteriesgenerator

Import

Primary sourcesEnergy requirement Usable form

Fig. 2. Energy sources and consumption pattern in Bangladesh [25].

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Gas Biomass Oil Others

Perc

enta

ge (%

)

2009 2010 2011 2012

Fig. 3. Share of total internal energy resources in Bangladesh [26].

Electricity 58%

Industry17%

Fertilizer7%

Household 11%

CNG6%

Commercial1%

Fig. 4. Sector wise use of natural gas in Bangladesh [26].

P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–16491638

Bangladesh mainly includes cooking, lighting, heating, productiveuses, motive power, leisure, and so on. These energy requirementsare satisfied from various non-renewable and renewable energysources as shown in Fig. 2 [25].

From Fig. 2, it is depicted that the main sources of commercialenergy in Bangladesh are natural gas and oil. However, it is amatter of hope that the share of natural gas in commercial energyconsumption is declining gradually and attention has been givento utilize renewable sources like biomass. In the year 2009, thenatural gas consumption was about 50% of total commercialenergy which has been reduced to 42% in year 2012. On the otherhand, biomass energy consumption has been increased from 33.3%to 34.1% during this fiscal year as presented in Fig. 3 [26].

Moreover, natural gas and liquid oil are the prime mover for theeconomic development of any country like Bangladesh. Thedemand for natural gas in every sector except commercial sectoris growing very fast. Currently, about 2180 million cubic feet(mmcf) gas is produced against a demand of 2500 mmcf per day[27]. It is expected that the present supply of natural gas will beexhausted within next 10–12 years if the existing consumptionrate continues. Sector wise use of natural gas in Bangladesh ispresented in Fig. 4 [26].

From Fig. 4, it is apparent that Electricity and industry are themain consumers of natural gas that account for 75% of totalconsumption. The remaining resource (25%) is consumed byfertilizer sectors (7%), household sector (11%), and others (7%).Moreover, compressed natural gas (CNG) is the rising sector thatconsumes almost 6% of total natural gas consumption. However,only 1.5 million households have natural gas supply due to theinsufficiency and poor gas transmission and network distribution.

Transport45%

Domestic9%

Agricultural21%

Industry6%

Power generation

19%

Fig. 5. Sector wise use of petroleum fuel in Bangladesh [26].

Table 1Annual household energy consumption in Bangladesh (average per household)[28].

Biomass (kg) Non-biomass

Fuel wood 1186.21 Candle (piece) 15.86Tree leaves 501.51 Kerosene (litre) 28.98Crop residue 708.18 Natural gas (BDTa) 9.59Dung cake/stick 523.90 LPG/LNG (litre) 0.05Sawdust 8.40 Grid electricity (kWh) 143.83

Solar PV (kWh) 0.53Storage cell (kWh) 0.55Dry-cell battery (piece) 15.01

a Bangladeshi Taka

Firewood44%

Tree leaves15%

Crop residues

21%

Kerosene2%

Electricity1%

Dung17%

Other0%

Fig. 6. Rural household energy consumption in Bangladesh [28].

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Perc

enta

ge (%

)

GDP growth rate Growth rate of electricity generation

Fig. 7. Relationship between electricity generation and GDP growth rate [29].

Reciprocating Engine, 3841 MW (35.87%)

Gas Turbine, 1554 MW (14.51%)

Steam Turbine, 2578 MW (24.07%)

Combined Cycle, 2006

MW (18.73%)

Hydro, 230 MW (2.15%)

Import Power, 500 MW (4.67%)

Natural Gas, 6681 MW (62.39%)

Furnes Oil, 2194 MW (20.49%)

Diesel, 854 MW (7.97%)

Coal, 250 MW (2.33%)

Hydro,230 MW (2.15%)

Power Import,500 MW(4.67%)

Fig. 8. Installed electricity capacity as on December, 2014 (A) fuel type and(B) plant type [29].

P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649 1639

Petroleum fuel is another crucial commercial energy source inBangladesh which mainly contains kerosene, diesel, and petrol.The transportation sector is the leading consumer of petroleumfuel with 45% of total consumption. Agriculture sector consumesabout 21% for irrigation. The remaining energy is used in power(19%) and domestic (9%) sectors as illustrated in Fig. 5 [26].

Furthermore, household energy consumption significantlyaffects its economy and quality of living standard. However, theenergy consumption depends on the resource availability andaccessibility of the country. In Bangladesh, the household energyconsumption involves various biomass and non-biomass sourcesas illustrated in Table 1 [28].

In rural areas, the majority of people primarily rely on biomassand kerosene for cooking, lighting, feeding, and heating. InBangladesh, about 95% of households gather or purchase biomassenergy for cooking whereas in rural areas almost 99% use wood,cow dung in the form of cake or stick, jute sticks or otheragricultural wastes for cooking. Fig. 6 shows that only firewoodaccounts for almost half of the total consumption [28]. In addition,about 70% of the rural population use kerosene for lightingpurpose.

3.3. Present electricity scenario

Electricity is a typical form of energy and considered as themost critical input for the technological, industrial, and economicdevelopment. Electricity crisis is one of the recent major concernsin Bangladesh. Almost 41.1 million people live below the povertyline in the country. Therefore, sufficient electricity supply must beneeded for country's GDP growth as well as poverty alleviation.The relationship between the GDP growth rate and electricitygeneration growth rate is presented in Fig. 7 [29].

From Fig. 7, it can be shown that the growth rate of electricitygeneration was 5.5% in the fiscal year 2006–2007, which hasincreased to 13.2% in the fiscal year 2012–2013. Alternatively, theGDP growth rate has increased to 6.8% in the fiscal year 2012–2013from 6.15% in the fiscal year 2006–2007.

In Bangladesh, the electricity generation is highly dependent onfossil fuel especially on natural gas. Upto December 2014, totalinstalled capacity was about 10,709 MW including 5880 MW frompublic sector and 4829 MW from private sector, where onlynatural gas accounts for 62.39% raw material for the powerproduction. Fig. 8 presents a snapshot of installed electricitycapacity in Bangladesh [29].

The economic growth, rapid urbanization, and industrial devel-opment of the country have increased the demand for electricity.Currently, the electricity access has increased to 68% (includingrenewable energy) of the total population from 47% with per

capita generation of 348 kWh, which is very low compared toother developing countries. As a part of government's vision 2021,initiatives have already been taken to electrify all the areas of thecountry. Although the electricity generation is increased by aremarkable amount in the year 2012–2013, there still exists a loadshedding of 1000 MW. Fig. 9 illustrates an overview of the powersector of Bangladesh [29,30].

It is obvious from Fig. 9 that the total electricity generationcapacity in the country was 5166 MW in the fiscal year 2008–2009, which has increased to 8525 MW in the fiscal year 2012–2013 with an average annual increase rate of 13%. Conversely, themaximum generation has increased to 6350 MW in the fiscal year2012–2013 with an average annual increase rate of 10.51% from4162 MW in the fiscal year 2008–2009. It is also seen from Fig. 9that the annual installed capacity is higher than the annualdemand except in the years of 2008–2011. In spite of this, therewas load shedding prevailing due to the low efficiency of the olderpower plants and shortage of fuel supply.

The number of beneficiaries and consumers of grid-connectedelectricity in the country are increasing remarkably. In the fiscalyear 2012, total grid connection was increased to 13.2 million from10.80 million in 2009 comprising of 11 million in households and1.4 million in commercial connections.

In the year 2011, electricity consumption in Bangladesh wasabout 39,533 GWh. Nevertheless, it is expected to increase thetotal electricity demand in 2035 to about 192.70 TWh [31]. There-fore, it is essential to include alternative options in future energypolicy to electrify the rural areas as grid power supply in thoseareas is not economically viable due to the high cost of distributionand associated transmission losses.

4. Prominent renewable energy resources in Bangladesh

Renewable energies are the resources that are reproducedcontinuously by natural manners, can be reused due to theirenvironment-friendly and sustainable properties. Renewable ener-gies especially include solar, biomass, wind, hydropower, andgeothermal energy exclusion of exhaustible resources like fossilfuels and uranium. Fig. 10 presents a snapshot of different renew-able energy technologies and resources available for electricity,heat, biogas, and bio-fuel production [32].

Bangladesh is endowed with an enormous amount of renew-able energy resources. Among the resources biomass, biogas, andsolar energy are considered the most favorable and effectiveresources. However, we are still far lagging behind in the use ofthese energies, whereas, the renewable energy utilization in theworld has already become prevalent. A summary of renewableenergy potentials and contributing entities in Bangladesh is shownin Table 2 [33]. In Bangladesh, renewable energy shares only 1.0%of country's total energy mix whereas, in the world it accountsalmost 19% of total energy consumption [34]. However, thecountry has a plan to increase the renewable energy utilizationfor electricity generation up to 10% by the year 2020 [33].

4.1. Biomass energy

Biomass is organic material coming from living or dead organ-isms like plant, tree, crops, and its residues and considered as themost prominent renewable and sustainable energy resource thatcan be stored and transferred. Biomass consumes CO2 for photo-synthesis in the presence of solar energy to produce organiccompounds required for its growth. Therefore, it is well-thought-out that biomass is physically CO2 neutral as it absorbs exactly thesame or more amount of CO2 in growing that it releases due to the

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

MW

Installed Capacity Generation CapacityMaximum Demand Load Shedding

Fig. 9. Electricity crisis scenario in Bangladesh [29,30].

P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–16491640

burning as a fuel. The conversion of biomass energy sources andcarbon cycle are schematically illustrated in Fig. 11 [35].

Bangladesh has a huge amount of biomass resources thatincludes rice husk, crop residue, wood, jute stick, animal waste,municipal waste, sugarcane bagasse and other related sources dueto its rain fed ecosystem. Moreover, almost 70% of people rely onbiomass energy directly or indirectly. However, in the world about2.6 billion people depend on biomass for cooking and heating. Infiscal year 2013, traditional biomass share was almost 60% ofworld's total biomass consumption, whereas, only 1.8% of totalelectricity was generated from biomass [34].

Agriculture is the main economic activity in Bangladesh andalmost 64% of total lands are used for this purpose. Therefore, thecountry has a vast scope of generation of residues from variousagricultural crops including rice, sugarcane, vegetables, wheat,jute, pulses, coconut, maize, millet, cotton, and groundnut culti-vated year-round in the country. Rice is the main agricultural cropproduced almost 34.36 million tons in 2013–2014 that coversabout 96.35% of total food grains. Total agricultural crops produc-tion in fiscal year 2012–2013 was about 61.09 million tons.

Renewable Energy Resources/Technologies

Biomass Energy Wind EnergySolar EnergyHydro Energy Marine EnergyGeothermal Energy

Solar PV ConcentratingSolar Heating

Solar Heating OnsoreOffsoreBioenergy forelectricity

Biofuel BiogasBioenergyfor heat

Fig. 10. An overview of renewable energy sources and technologies [32].

Table 2Renewable energy potential in Bangladesh [33].

Resources Potential Entities involved

Solar Enormous Public and privatesector

Wind Resource mapping required Public sector/PPPHydro Limited potential for micro or mini-hydro (max. 5 MW). Estimated hydro potential approximately

500 MWMainly public entities

Domestic biogas system 8.6 million m3 of biogas Public and privatesector

Rice husk based biomass gasification powerplant

300 MW considering 2 kg of husk consumption per kWh Mainly private sector

Cattle waste based biogas power plants 350 MW considering 0.752 m3 of biogas consumption per kWh Mainly private sector

Sun

Hydrocarbons Biomassgrowth Synfuels

Wastes Feeds andfoodstuff products Wastes

CO2 in atmosphere

Naturalproduction

Harvesting

conversion

disposal

Fossilizationand recovery

Consumption Consumption

disposal

ConversionHarvesting

ConbustionConbustion

Fig. 11. Main features of the biomass energy technology with carbon cycle [35].

Table 3Total biomass potential in Bangladesh in 2012–2013 [36].

Biomasssources

Biomassgeneration(million tons)

Energycontent(PJ)

Electricitygeneration(TWh)

Coalequivalent(milliontons)

Gasequivalent(BCM)a

Agriculturalresidues

94.10 582.33 161.80 19.88 14.72

Forestresidues

17.44 210.64 58.53 7.19 5.33

Livestockresidues

88.89 456.41 126.81 15.58 11.54

MSW 13.38 95.61 26.57 3.26 2.42Total 213.81 1344.99 373.71 45.91 34.01

a Billion cubic meters.

Diegester Biogas

Slurry

Electricity

Animalmanure

Used asfertilizer

Used as fishfeed in pond

Anaerobicconversion

Mixing

Water

Cooking andlighting

Sugars, Aminoacids, Fatty acids

H2, CO2,Organic acids

Biogas(CH4, CO2, H2S)

Fig. 12. An outline of biogas production and its utilization.

P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649 1641

Furthermore, most of the family in Bangladesh has livestockincluding cattle, buffalo, goat, and sheep and poultry such aschicken and duck. In the year 2012–2013, the country had 53.02million livestock and 293.235 million poultry. However, thisanimal manures and human excreta would be a massive biomasspotential in Bangladesh. On the other hand, a considerable amountof forest residues including tree leaves, twigs, bark, roots, and sawdusts contributes in the biomass energy sector. Because of rapidurbanization, Bangladesh is producing a huge amount of municipaland industrial waste considered as the source of energy.

Therefore, the agricultural and forest residues, livestockexcreta, and municipal wastes can play a vital role in heating aswell as power generation. These biomass resources can be con-verted to fuel for the electricity generation plant through varioustechnologies like biogas plant, gasification, pyrolysis, and so on. Inthe fiscal year 2012–2013, Bangladesh had almost 213.81 milliontons biomass generation potential equivalent to 1344.99 petajoules (PJ). The resources had an annual energy potential of45.91 million tons of coal equivalent that can produce about373.71 trillion watt hour (TWh) of electricity in renewable andsustainable basis as shown in Table 3 [36].

Apart from the above mentioned, biogas is a gaseous fuelproduced through the disintegration of biomass primarily animalmanure, human excreta, and organic solid wastes in the absence ofair that includes almost 40–70% methane (CH4). Biogas is pro-duced through anaerobic digestion that can be used for lighting,cooking, and electricity generation and the remaining slurry canbe used as fertilizer and fish feed as illustrated in Fig. 12. Giventhese points, Bangladesh has a vast potential for biogas generationfrom her existing residue and waste resources. A study found that,it could be possible to produce about 2.91 billion m3 of biogasfrom available animal dung in 2012–2013 which is equivalent to1.455 billion litres of diesel [36].

In Bangladesh, biogas plant is getting popularity among therural people. Up to October 2014, almost 79,612 domestic biogas

plants have been installed all over the country by InfrastructureDevelopment Company Limited (IDCOL) and some governmentorganizations. Moreover, IDCOL has already financed two rice huskgasification power plants of capacity 250 kW and 400 kW andeight biogas based electricity generation plants. Conversely, Chinaand India have about 45 million and 5 million biogas plantrespectively.

Last but not the least, bio-fuel is an emerging energy source intransport sector all over the world. In the year 2013, bio-fuelproduction and consumption in the world was about 116.6 billionlitres [34]. In Bangladesh, bio-fuel production is in an embryonicstage where ten pyrolysis plants have been established to producebio-oil from waste tire and other biomasses. However, the plantsare not working properly due to lack of appropriate maintenanceand technical knowledge. Although there are no energy crops forthe production of bio-fuel commercially, Pongamia pinnata andJatropha curcas can be effectively cultivated for production ofbiodiesel [37–40]. Biomass briquette is a compact solid fuel ofloose biomass having higher calorific value than the biomassproduced from. The recent potential of rice husk can produceabout 1 million ton of briquette equivalent to 1.63–1.67 million tonof fuel wood [3]. However, the country is producing only 19,881 tof rice husk briquette per year [41].

4.2. Solar energy

Solar energy is the most predominant renewable and sustain-able source of energy all over the world. The solar home system,solar PV (Fig. 13), and concentrating solar power (CSP) arepromising technologies throughout the world for producing elec-tricity utilizing the solar radiation. Bangladesh has a huge scope ofutilizing solar radiation due to her geographical location. Shereceives an average daily solar radiation of 4–6.5 kWh/m2 thatcan produce approximately 1018�1018 J energy. In addition,country's recent primary energy consumption of 26.7 Mtoe is aliketo 1.12�1018 J that is only 0.11% of total solar radiation. Monthlysolar radiation of some selected districts and Islands in the countryis presented in Fig. 14 [42–44].

Solar panel Charge controller

Battery

Loads

Sun

Solar radiation

Fig. 13. A schematic illustration of solar energy utilization.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

kWh/

m2

JanFebMarAprilMayJunJulyAugSepOctNovDec

Fig. 14. Solar radiation of some selected areas [42–44].

00.511.522.533.54

020406080

100120140160

Mill

ion

MW

Numbers Capacity

Fig. 15. Increasing trend of SHS installation.

Table 4Solar energy potential in Bangladesh.

Technology Potential power (MW) Reference

CSP 100 [52]Grid connected solar PV 50,174 [53]SHS 234 [33]

P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–16491642

Solar PV plays a substantial role in global electricity generationand shares about 0.7% of total electricity generation. On the otherhand, it shares nearly 7.8% of annual electricity production in Italy,6% in Greece and 5% in Germany. In the year 2013, the powerproduction in the world was increased to 139 GW and 3.4 GWfrom solar PV and CSP respectively. China and Japan are the Asianleading countries producing approximately 20 GW and 13.6 GWsolar power respectively [34].

In the same token, the solar home system is a more attractiveand effective solar technology in Bangladesh perspective. Severalstudies mention the successful implementation of solar energyutilization for rural and off-grid electrification through solar PVand home system [45–50]. IDCOL has started its solar program in2003 and so far up to October 2014, a total of 3357609 SHSs havebeen disseminated all over the country through its 47 partnerorganizations funded by World Bank. On the other hand, GrameenShakti is the pioneer partner organization of IDCOL havinginstalled almost 56% of total SHSs. Total installed capacity of SHShas reached 150 MW in the year 2013–2014 with 185.185%increase over the previous year as illustrated in Fig. 15. However,the country has almost 234 MW electricity generation potentialfrom SHSs [33].

Furthermore, solar concentrating power is another efficienttechnology for harnessing solar energy and found to be suitable inRajshahi district [51]. The annual average direct normal insolationin the country could be able to produce about 100 MW ofelectricity through this technology [52]. Grid-connected solar PVor mini-grid concept would bring a new dimension in the sector ofsolar energy utilization. Bangladesh has a potential of 50,174 MWgrid connected solar PV as presented in Table 4. However, thecountry is producing only 3 MW from roof top solar plantsconnected to grid. On the other hand, Japan and USA have alreadyinstalled about 300 MW and 70 MW grid-connected PV systems[54] respectively. Bangladesh power development board andpower division has also installed combined cycle plants, solarirrigation pumps, LED street light, and hot box cooker.

4.3. Hydro energy

Hydro means water, so hydropower is a form of renewableenergy that is harnessed fromwater flow. Water head is convertedinto electric energy from kinetic energy by coupling turbine shaftto a generator. Fig. 16 represents the schematic diagram of hydro-power generation [55].

The electrical power generated from water head is obtainedfrom the following equation:

P ¼ γ � Q � H ð1Þwhere P¼power generated (W), γ¼ specific weight of water (N/m3), Q¼ flow rate of water (m3/s), and H¼water head (m).

Hydropower generation is dependent on the water head andmay be varied fromwatt to megawatt power. Table 5 demonstratesthe classification of hydropower plants [56]. Micro-hydropowerplant can generate up to 100 kW power and normally used forsmall community, industry, and so on in remote and isolated off-grid areas. On the contrary, large power plants can generate morethan 100 MW electric power typically used for feeding into largegrid connection. However, almost 50% of the total hydropower islost due to the channel, penstock, turbine, generator, and trans-mission losses.

Small scale hydropower became prevalent and acceptablethroughout the world due to its simplicity, low cost, reliability,and environmental sustainability. In year 2013, world's totalinstalled hydropower capacity reached approximately 1000 GWand electricity generation capacity to 3750 TWh with an increaseof 4% over the previous year. It shares about 3.8% of global primaryenergy consumption and 16.4% of global electricity generation.China is the leading hydropower generation country having a totalcapacity of almost 260 GW that accounts to about 26% of the totalcapacity as illustrated in Fig. 17 [34].

Bangladesh is a country of numerous canals and branches ofthe rivers, hence, has a good scope of hydropower extraction.However, the rivers and Chittagong hill tracts are more suitable formicro-hydropower plant due to low cost and low current speed. In1981, hydropower assessment of Bangladesh water developmentboard (BWDB) and Bangladesh power development board (BPDB)discovered suitable micro-hydropower generation sites as pre-sented in Table 6 [57].

In addition to these, sustainable rural energy (SRE) projectunder Local government engineering department (LGED) has alsoexplored some possible sites for micro-hydropower plants inChittagong areas in 2004 with an estimated power capacity of135 kW as presented in Table 7 [57]. With the initiative of this

Dams

Tidalbarrage

Waterturbine

ACpower

Water flowWatervalve

Tailrace

Synchronousgenerator

Speed control

Fig. 16. Schematic diagram of hydropower generation [55].

Table 5Classification hydropower plants [56].

Large hydro More than 100 MW and usually feeding into a large electricity gridMedium hydro 15–100 MW-usually feeding a gridSmall hydro 1–15 MW-usually feeding into a gridMini-hydro Above 100 kW, but below 1 MW; either stand-alone schemes or more often feeding into the gridMicro-hydro From 5 kW up to 100 kW; usually provided power for a small community or rural industry in remote areas away from the gridPico-hydro From a few hundred watts up to 5 kW

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Cap

acity

(GW

)

Fig. 17. Hydropower capacity of top 9 countries, 2013 [34].

P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649 1643

project, first micro-hydropower plant in Bangladesh has beenestablished at Bamerchara, Chittagong of installing capacity of10 kW. The plant uses cross-flow turbine and has been designedconsidering 150 l per second flow rate with a penstock length52 m for 6–10 m water head [57].

In Bangladesh, the first hydro-power generation plant wasinstalled in the Karnafuli river basin in 1962 with two units ofcapacity 40 MW each through BPDB. By the year 1988, three moreunits of capacity 50 MW each were installed and the total installedcapacity rose to 230 MW. This is commonly known as Kaptaihydroelectric power plant that uses vertical axis Kaplan turbine.There is a future plan of adding another 100 MW capacity in thisplant. Bangladesh has almost 1897 MW hydropower potentialcomprising of 330 MW in Karnafuli river basin, 87 MW in Sanguriver basin, 80 MW in Matamuhuri river basin, and 1400 MW inBrahmaputra river basin. BPDB has already installed a 50 kWmicro-hydropower plant at Barkal upazila of Rangamati districtin 2005 and also financing a 50–70 kW Mohamaya irrigation-cum-hydropower project at Mirersorai, Chittagong [29].

4.4. Wind energy

Wind power is one of the most imperative eco-friendly sourcesof renewable energy that is harnessed from wind speed. A simpleapproach for the conversion of wind speed into electrical power isdisplayed in Fig. 18. The kinetic energy of the moving air isconverted into the mechanical power of turbine shaft and theninto electrical energy through a generator.

The theoretical amount of electrical power can be estimated bythe following equation. However, only 30–35% of this power ispractically available for utilization.

P ¼ 12� ρ� A� V3 ð2Þ

where P¼power generated (W), ρ¼density of air (kg/m3),A¼swept area of turbine blade (m2), and V¼wind speed (m/s).

Wind power generation is entirely dependent on the windspeed as well as the size, number, and orientation of blades of theturbine used. On the basis of power generation rating turbines areclassified in micro, small, medium, and large-scale turbines asrevealed in Table 8 [58,59]. Among them, small scale windturbines are more suitable for battery charging, stand-aloneapplications, and small grid connections.

Global wind power generation increased by 35 GW in the year2013 and reached to 318 GW as shown in Fig. 19 [34]. Wind powershares almost 2.9% of world's total electricity generation in 2013.China is the largest wind power generation country in the world oftotal installed capacity 91.4 GW in 2013 comprising about 14.1 GWfor grid connection and 75.5 GW for commercial operation. Ger-many has the Europe's largest installed capacity of 34.7 GW and is

Table 6Potential of micro-hydropower sites in Bangladesh identified by BPDB and BWDB [57].

District Name (River/Chara/Stream) Potential of electrical energy(kW)

Chittagong Foy's lake 4Chittagong Choto Kumira 15Chittagong Hinguli Chara 12Chittagong hill tracts Sealock 81Chittagong Lungichara 10Chittagong Budiachara 10Sylhet Nikhari Chara 26Sylhet Madhab Chara 1500 ft. from fall 78Sylhet Rangapani Gung 616Jamalpur Bhugai-Kongsa at 2 miles U/S. of Nalitabari 69 for 10 monthsJamalpur Marisi at Dukabad near Jhinaigati 35 for 10 monthsDinajpur Dahuk at Burabari 24

Chawai at U/S of Chawai L.L.P 32Talam at U/S of Talam L.L.P 24Pathraj at Fulbari 32Tangon at D/S of Nargun L.L.P 48Punarbhaba at Singraban 11

Rangpur Buri Khora Chikli at Nizbari 32Fulkumar at Raiganj Bazar 48

Table 7Potential of micro-hydropower sites identified by SRE project under LGED [57].

Site Expected powergeneration (kW)

Socio-economic infrastructurewithin 1 km

House-hold

School/Mosque/Bazaar/Clinic

Smallindustry

NunchariTholipara,Khagrachari

3 100 3 1

Chang-oo-Para,Bandarban

30 200 5 2

Bangchari,Bandarban

25 600 12 5

Liragaon,Bandarban

20 500 8 3

Kamalchar,Rangamati

20 150 8 9

Thang Khrue,Rangamati

30 300 6 3

Monjaipara,Bandarban

7.5 50 3 –

Table 8Taxonomy of wind turbines [58,59].

Scale Rotor diameter Power rating

Micro Less than 3 m 50 W to 2 kWSmall 3 m to 12 m 2 kW to 40 kWMedium 12 m to 45 m 40 kW to 999 kWLarge 46 m and large More than 1.0 MW

P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–16491644

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Cap

acity

(GW

)

Fig. 19. Wind power total world capacity, 2000–2013 [34].

1.81.922.12.22.32.42.5

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

m/sm

Reference height Annual average wind speed

Fig. 20. Feasibility of wind conditions of some selected sites [61].

Windmill

SurplusenergydumpRectifier

Inverter

DC controlunit

Voltageregulator Battery

ACpower

DCpower

Variable speedfixed pitch

bladesAsynchronous

generator

Variablevoltage andfrequency

Fig. 18. Representation of wind power generation.

Table 9Wind turbine installations scenario in Bangladesh [62].

Organization Type of application Installed capacity (W) Location Present Present Status

Grameen Shakti 3 Hybrid 4500 Grameen offices in the coastal region FunctioningHybrid 7500 Cyclone shelter in the coastal region Functioning

BRAC Stand-alone 900 Coastal region FunctioningHybrid 4320 Coastal region Functioning

Bangladesh Army Stand-alone 400 Chittagong hill tracts FunctioningIFRD Stand-alone 1100 Teknaf Functioning

Stand-alone 600 Meghnaghat FunctioningLGED Wind-PV hybrid 400 Kuakata FunctioningTotal capacity (kW) 19.72 – –

P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649 1645

generating 53.4 TWh of electricity whereas the neighboring coun-try India has an installed capacity of 20.2 GW.

Bangladesh has some potential sites including 724 km longcoast line and several small Islands in the Bay of Bengal for windpower extraction especially in monsoon season. Wind speed ofmore than 7 m/s is feasible for large scale grid connected elec-tricity production; however, a lower wind speed of 2.5 m/s can beutilized for power extraction by upgrading the blade design andaerodynamics. Bangladesh center for advance studies (BCAS),Bangladesh metrological department (BMD), and LGED found thatthe speed of wind varies from 2.96 to 4.54 m/s at a height of 25and 50 m in different parts of Bangladesh [60]. Therefore, small-

scale wind turbines may be viable for some regions (Fig. 20) thatcan be an effective option for stand-alone electricity [61].

In Bangladesh, BPDB installed the first wind power generationplant at Muhuri dam area of Sonagazi in Feni of installed capacity0.90 MW that includes four units of capacity 225 kW each. Inaddition, BPDB has already installed another 1 MW wind batteryhybrid power plant at Kutubdia Island in the year 2008 whichconsists of 50 wind turbines of 20 kW capacity each. The presentinstalled capacity of wind power by BPDB reaches 2 MW [29].Besides, different government and non-government institutionshave installed some hybrid and stand-alone wind power plants aspresented in Table 9, though their capacity is very small [62].

Moreover, BPDB has completed one year wind resourcesassessment in Muhuri dam area of Feni, Mognamaghat of Cox'sBazar, Parky beach of Anwara in Chittagong, Kepupara of Borguna,and Kuakata of Patuakhali and taken necessary initiatives to install15 MW wind power plant. BPDB also has a plan for implementa-tion of another 0.90 MW pilot project at Kuakata. Recently,Bangladesh signed an agreement with US DK Green energy (BD)Ltd., a joint project of Bangladesh, Denmark, and USA for installing

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

Cap

acity

(GW

)

Fig. 21. Electric power capacity from geothermal energy of top country, 2013 [34].

Table 10Geothermal gradients as noted in some deep wells of Bangladesh [63].

Well name Depth (km) Gradient (K/km)

Hazipur 3816 30.9Bakhrabad 12,837 25.0Titas 13,758 30.1Habigonj 13,509 31.6Rashidpur 13,861 26.8Biani Bazar 14,107 28.7Kailas Tila 14,139 27.8Sylhet 12,377 31.1Chhatak 12,133 33.8Semutang 14,088 30.3Begamganj 13,656 31.7

Table 11Tidal levels in coastal Bangladesh [64].

Station LAT MLWS MLWN ML MHWN MHWS HAT TD (AT)

Hiron Points �0.256 0.225 0.905 1.700 2.495 3.175 3.656 3.912Sundarikota �0.553 0.036 0.636 1.829 3.022 3.694 4.211 4.764Mongla �0.261 0.325 1.194 2.310 3.427 4.296 4.882 5.143Khal no. 10 �0.444 0.261 1.231 2.664 4.097 5.067 5.772 6.216Sadarghat �0.423 0.239 1.100 2.481 3.861 4.722 5.385 5.808Cox's Bazar �0.339 0.205 1.023 1.995 2.967 3.785 4.329 4.668S. Island �0.348 0.191 1.045 1.874 2.703 3.557 4.096 4.444Sandwip �0.583 0.238 1.634 3.243 4.851 6.248 7.070 7.653Char Changa �0.375 0.256 1.060 2.037 3.014 3.818 4.449 4.824Khepupara �0.323 0.195 1.025 2.060 3.096 3.925 4.445 4.768C. Ramdaspur �0.261 0.189 0.763 2.036 3.309 3.883 4.333 4.594Barisal þ0.134 0.434 0.692 1.539 2.386 2.644 2.944 2.810Chandpur þ0.019 0.256 0.493 2.172 3.852 4.088 4.326 4.307Nalmuri þ0.078 0.370 0.722 2.195 3.669 4.021 4.313 4.235Narayanganj þ0.458 0.585 0.697 2.770 4.844 4.956 5.083 4.625Galachipa �0.159 0.283 0.937 1.764 2.592 3.245 3.689 3.848Patuakhali �0.143 0.242 0.740 1.575 2.409 2.907 3.293 3.436

Explanation: MLWS¼Mean Low Water Spring, MHWS¼Mean High Water Spring, MHWN¼Mean High Water Neap, MLWN¼Mean Low Water Neap, ML¼Mean Level,AT¼Astronomical Tide, LAT¼Lowest Astronomical Tide, HAT¼Highest Astronomical Tide, TR¼Difference between lowest and highest tidal height in m.

Table 12Present achievement of power generation from renewable energy [33].

Category Achievement (MW)

SHS 150Solar irrigation 1Roof top solar PV at different buildings 14Wind energy 2Biomass based electricity o1Biogas based electricity 5Hydropower 230Total 403

Table 13Expected participation of public sectors in renew-able energy development [33].

Category Total capacity (MW)

Solar 25Wind 235Total 260

P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–16491646

the country's largest ever wind power plant of capacity 60 MW atCox's Bazar.

5. Other probable renewable energy resources in Bangladesh

Besides biomass, solar, wind, and hydro energy, Bangladesh hasthe potential of the oceanic wave, tidal power, and geothermalenergy for electricity generation in future. However, the potentialof these resources is still under investigation and necessary effortshave been given to make them affordable and viable in Bangladeshcontext.

Geothermal energy is considered eco-friendly, local and sus-tainable, independent of wind and sun variation that can be usedin the form of electricity. In the year 2013, world's total geothermalenergy potential was about 12 GW and almost 76 TWh of elec-tricity was generated annually. It is estimated that global geother-mal energy is about 15,000 times the total energy contained inworld's total oil and gas reserves. United States was the largestgeothermal electric power generating country of capacity 3.4 GW(Fig. 21) in the year 2013 [34]. In Bangladesh, geothermal energyresources are yet to be in assessment stages due to lack of properknowledge, technology, and equipment to extract them thoughthe country has some thermal gradient sites (Table 10) [63].Therefore, utmost importance has to be given to evaluate thegeothermal resources and how they can play a role in the renew-able energy sector of the country.

Furthermore, oceanic wave and tides of the storms would beanother source of renewable energy in Bangladesh as almost twoor three cyclones hit in the Bay of Bengal every year. Seven gaugestations installed at the Saint Martin Island have found that theIsland has about 1–2 m tidal head that can be used by particulartechnology for power generation. Bangladesh has some tidal levelsites (Table 11) though no initiatives have been taken to explorepower yet [64]. On the contrary, Global ocean energy capacity atthe end of 2013 was about 530 MW that comes from ocean waves,tidal rise and fall, and tidal currents.

6. Recent achievement and future target in renewable energydevelopment in Bangladesh

Electricity generation and distribution are the burning issues inthe country and great challenge for the government. However, theaddition of renewable energy resources in this sector is a remark-able achievement that leads the country's total electricity genera-tion capacity. Renewable energy is included in the national energypolicy in year 2008 to encourage different public and privateorganizations for investment in replacement of indigenous non-renewable energy sources. From then, utilization, research activ-ities, and development of renewable energy resources are growingvery fast; however, the commercial utilization of these resources isstill far behind in the country's context. Recently, country'scapacity of renewable sources based electricity generation is raisedto almost 403 MW including both governments' contributionin large scale grid connected power generation and private'scontribution in off-grid home based power generation as depictedin Table 12 [33].

According to Power system master plan 2010, electricity gen-eration capacity of Bangladesh would be increased to 16,000 MWby the year 2016 and 39,000 MW by the year 2030 [29]. To achievethis target, the government has set a plan to use coal as dominat-ing fuel for future power generation and already has takeninitiatives to set up two big coal-fired power plants at Khulnaand Chittagong of capacity 1320 MW each. Besides, GOB hasstarted the construction of nuclear power plant due to clean formof energy and expected to generate from Rooppur 1 (1000 MW)and Rooppur 2 (1000 MW) by the year 2020, Rooppur 3(1000 MW) by the year 2025 and Rooppur 4 (1000 MW) by theyear 2030.

However, it is just not enough to achieve the target withoutincorporating the generation from renewable resources. Governmenthas given emphasis on energy extraction from renewable sources andtargeted to develop at least 500 MW power from these by the end ofyear 2015; however, it is evident that only collaboration betweenpublic and private sectors will boost up the initiatives to reach thelandmark. Some government institutions like REB, BPDB, LGED andBCSIR have already implemented several renewable energy projects.On the other hand, IDCOL is a pioneer in the field of renewable energytechnology dissemination that is developing its renewable energymarket through numerous partner organizations. Tables 13 and 14

Table 14Expected participation of private sectors (through IDCOL) in renewable energy development [33].

Category Average unit capacity Target Total capacity (MW)

SHS 39 W 6 million 234Biogas plant for cooking gas 2.6 m3 100,000 40Solar mini-grid 150 kW 50 7.5Solar irrigation pump 10 kW 1550 15.5Biogas based power plant 50 kW 140 7Biomass based power plant 300 kW —— 1.5Total 305.5

Table 15Expected projects implementation by the private sectors in 500 MW solar program[65].

Projects Capacity(MW)

Solar mini-grid 25Solar irrigation pump 150Solar park 135Solar roof-top (residential &commercial buildings) (industrialbuildings)

1020

Total 340

Table 16Expected projects implementation by the public sectors in 500 MW solar program[65].

Projects Capacity (MW)

Solar electrification in health centers 50Solar electrification in remote educational institutions 40Solar electrification at union e-centers 7Solar electrification at religious establishment 12Solar electrification at remote railway stations 10Solar PV system in government &semi-government offices 41Total 160

P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649 1647

present the expected contribution of government and nongovernmentorganizations in the advancement of renewable energy in the next 2–3years [33].

Bangladesh is leading the way of solar energy utilization.Currently, the government has initiated a massive solar powerprogram of capacity 500 MW with the encouragement and fund-ing of Asian Development Bank [33]. The project is expected to becompleted by the year 2016 through the participation of privatesectors of capacity 340 MW mainly for commercial purposes andpublic sectors of capacity 160 MW mainly for social benefits(Tables 15 and 16) [65]. Furthermore, the government and privateinstitutions have commenced several wind and biomass-basedpower generation projects.

7. Conclusion

In Bangladesh, still natural gas accounts for almost 72.42% oftotal electricity generation fuel mix in the fiscal year 2013–2014.On the other hand, only 2.5% of total electricity generation comesfrom renewable sources which comparing the global generation isreally insignificant. Although, GOB has a plan to add 4000 MWnuclear power in country's power generation mix by the year2030, it would not be enough to meet the power demandapproximately 34,000 MW. Therefore, for the assurance of energysecurity and insufficient potential of indigenous energy sources,initial must be taken to promote alternative and sustainableenergy solution in the country. More research is needed for thedevelopment of the energy sector, so that the access to modern,reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy services would play apositive role in economic and social progress in Bangladesh.Government must work together with private organizations andinternational donor agencies for providing economic support forrenewable energy to create awareness among the people.

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