Renewable, green energy will ensure energy security: Nasrul Hamid

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, MP, today said renewable energy and green energy will ensure energy security in the future.

"The government has been cooperating for expansion of renewable energy," he told this at a virtual conference recently in the city as the chief guest.

Nasrul Hamid said it is possible to advance with a concept for set upping rooftop or floating solar power plants, as Bangladesh has no scope for large scale solar power plant due to an agro-based economy.

"The government has approved net metering guidelines in 2018 and now the power division has been working on wind and waste," the state minister added.

He said Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has made a remarkable success in the power sector as it secured the second position in accessing power from Renewable Energy (RE) especially off-grid solar solutions.

"Renewable sources generate 630.96 MW electricity of which 397.03 MW power comes from the solar system and the government has developed power generation strategy based on fuel diversification to enhance energy security," Nasrul Hamid added.

The Renewable Energy Policy obligates the renewable energy share to be 10 percent by 2020 that means it would be 2,000 MW, according to Sustainable & Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA).

According to ministry information, there are 5.8 million cumulative installations of Solar Home System (SHSs) in predominantly off-grid areas in the country, making it the largest off-grid renewable energy program in the world.

With sincere efforts, power generation capacity of the country has reached to 23,436 MW and 97 percent people are accessing electricity now, it said.

Apart from this, speakers at another virtual conference focused on the fact that the reduction of waste generation and greenhouse gas emission is the way leading to achieve greener, smart and healthy cities.

Former Director General of Rural Development Academy (RDA), Bogra highlighted that solid waste management thorough community based biogas model through which RDA produces gas, fertilizer and waste-2-value simultaneously. The biogas model has succeeded to supply power for 24 hours having 140 KB to 75 households of 112 villages there.