A developing country perspective on implementing: Sustainable energy programs

Abstract

Bangladesh is a developing country faced with many challenges such ashigh population growth rate, low literacy levels, and poverty. One ofits most difficult tasks is providing the infrastructure necessary tosustain a growing population with a finite resource base. There is aneed to develop a long term energy strategy that relies on sustainableresources while reducing environmental harm. Solar energy has thepotential to meet these requirements and presents a highly attractiveenergy source for Bangladesh. Bangladesh is fortunate enough to have asignificant amount of solar irradiance.A number of projects have been started in Bangladesh to exploitrenewable energy resources. This paper will highlight the current statusof these projects. Major interest and activity is directed towardsdevelopment of photovoltaic and wind resources. The market for renewabletechnologies is vast in Bangladesh where a significant portion of thepopulation is off-grid and in need of energy. Although this is not anaffluent market technology costs have come down sufficiently such thatit is becoming accessible to rural populations with credit schemes.While developing sustainable energy is a worthwhile goal and muchencouraged by donor agencies, Bangladesh's perspective on attempting todevelop this sector suggests that it is not an easy road to follow, dueto numerous internal and external barriers. A discussion of the barriersto the commercialization of renewables will be included in this. paper.The objective of this paper is to shed some light on these issues and tostimulate discussions on how to overcome the barriers and encourage thedissemination of renewables in developing countries.