Solar power to be introduced in all entities under LGRD ministry: Shahe Alam
Through this, it will be possible to cut the cost of electricity in government institutions and increase the use of renewable energy, he said.
State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam today (17 August) said the use of solar power will be ensured in all entities under the ministry.
At the same time, he said, initiatives will be taken to introduce the use of solar power in other government departments in the next phase.
Shahe Alam made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a review meeting on the use of solar power in offices, agencies and institutions under the Local Government Division and Rural Development and Cooperatives Division at the conference room of the Local Government Division at Bangladesh Secretariat here.
He said there is a plan to use solar power on the rooftops of government offices.
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Through this, it will be possible to cut the cost of electricity in government institutions and increase the use of renewable energy, he said.
The state minister said the use of solar power has already started at Sangsad Bhaban and this programme will be expanded to other government offices in phases.
He said if the use of solar power is introduced in the head offices of the departments and organisations under the Local Government Division, it will be possible to significantly reduce the government's electricity costs.
There is a plan to ensure this programme in every office at the district, upazila, municipality and union levels, Shahe Alam said.
The state minister said through the net metering system, the excess electricity generated from solar power at the entities of Local Government Division can be supplied to the national grid.
Regarding the implementation process, he said two separate committees will be formed under the leadership of two additional secretaries of the Local Government and Rural Development and Cooperatives Divisions.
Shahe Alam said these committees will decide on relevant issues, including the method and potential cost of introducing solar power in government offices based on talks with organisations involved in the solar power sector such as Walton, PRAN-RFL and Grameen Shakti.
The Cabinet Division issued an instruction on August 10 to implement the decision to increase the use of solar power in government offices.
The meeting was also attended by Secretary of the Local Government Division Md. Shahidul Hassan, Secretary of the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division Mohammad Showkat Rashid Chowdhury, Managing Director of Dhaka WASA Md Aminul Islam, Registrar and Director General of the Department of Cooperatives Md Selim Fakir, Director General of Bangladesh Rural Development Board AKM Tareque, Chief Engineer of the Public Health Engineering Department Md Abdul Awal, Chief Engineer of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) Md Belal Hossain, Director General of Bangladesh Rural Development Academy (BARD)-Cumilla Saif Uddin Ahmed, and heads of various departments, organizations and institutions under the ministry.
