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

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

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, Bangladesh
b
Institute of Appropriate Technology, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
c
School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane QLD-4001, Australia
d
Waste Technologies, LLC (WTL), 1376 Chopsey Hill Road, Bridgeport CT-06606, USA

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Energy is one of the indispensable inputs for the survival of human being in the earth. Bangladesh has
Received 28 January 2015 the very inadequate amount of indigenous non-renewable energy resources even which is being
Received in revised form diminished rapidly to increase the electricity generation. Although the installed electricity generation
14 May 2015
capacity has been increased to 10,709 MW, still the amount is insufficient to meet the demand of the
Accepted 11 July 2015
Available online 3 August 2015
country. In addition to this, the insufficient power generation hinders the socio-economic and industrial
development. This current problem in power generation of Bangladesh can be removed by incorporating
Keywords: renewable energy into electricity generation. Recently, utilization of renewable energy and Renewable
Energy crisis Energy Technologies (RETs) is getting momentum in the country to achieve not only energy security but
Renewable energy
also to reduce environmental pollution and to limit the imminent depletion of the non-renewable
RETs
energy resources. Overall, Bangladesh has the vast potential of biomass, solar, hydro, wind, and tidal
Bangladesh
powers. This paper outlines the present energy scenario of the country. Following this, the potential of
available renewable energy resources is also reviewed and presented in this paper.
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1637
2. Bangladesh at a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1637
2.1. Geographical location of Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1637
2.2. Population and other information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1637
3. Energy status in Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1637
3.1. Energy and economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1637
3.2. Energy demand and consumption pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1638
3.3. Present electricity scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1640
4. Prominent renewable energy resources in Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1640
4.1. Biomass energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1640
4.2. Solar energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1642
4.3. Hydro energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1643
4.4. Wind energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1644
5. Other probable renewable energy resources in Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1647
6. Recent achievement and future target in renewable energy development in Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1647
7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1648
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1648

n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 88 1913597592.
E-mail address: pobitra.halder@gmail.com (P.K. Halder).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.069
1364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649
1. Introduction
Enough energy supply is the pivotal obligation for the overall
development and improvement of the lifestyle of human being in any
country 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 was
6629.8 Mtoe in 1980 [1]. Among the energy sources, oil accounts for
the highest percentages (32.9%) of share followed by coal (30.1%).
It is expected that the global energy demand would increase by
five times of the current demand by 2100 [2]. Recently, about three-
fourth of the world's energy is produced from fossil sources [3]. The
way of utilizing fossil fuels without incorporating renewable energy
resources and technologies will ultimately deplete these sources [4].
The burning of fossil fuel significantly contributes to CO2 emission that
is directly responsible for climate change and greenhouse effect. The
average amount of lifecycle CO2 generation during electricity produc-
tion from coal is about 888 t CO2e/GWh followed by oil and natural
gas, which is about 733 and 499 t CO2e/GWh respectively [5].
Therefore, the global warming and greenhouse effect are considered
as the major concerns and challenges to attain the sustainability in the
world [6–8]. Moreover, these problems and shortage of fossil fuel
stimulate the country and society to alter the energy policy towards
alternative energy sources [9]. Therefore, energy policies have been
revised considering renewable energy as the new source of sustainable
energy 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 energy
consumption. The primary energy consumption was raised to
26.7 Mtoe in 2013 that is almost double from 14.8 Mtoe in 2002 [1].
However, the country has very limited amount of these energy
sources. She had only 1063 million tons of recoverable coal reserve
and 9.7 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of proved natural gas reserve at the end
of 2013 [1,15]. Furthermore, the country has to import about 1.2 million
tons crude oil and 2.6 million tons refined petroleum products each
year to meet its liquid fuel demand [16]. In the year 2013, Bangladesh
consumed almost 21.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 5.7 million
tons of oil, and 1.0 Mtoe of coal. The petroleum reserve in the country
is only 8% of the total demand. On the other hand, only 6% of the total
population has the facility of natural gas connection. Electricity
demand in Bangladesh has increased dramatically, and the production
entirely depends on fossil fuel. Furthermore, the electricity generation
contributes almost 40% of the total CO2 emissions in the country [17].
The maximum electricity generation in the country has increased to
7418 MW against a demand of 9268 MW in 2014. This huge gap
between the total generation and demand effectively hinders the
economic and technological development of the country. From now
on, the government of Bangladesh (GOB) has already taken initiatives
30
25
20
Mtoe
15
10
5
0
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Fig. 1. Primary energy consumption trend in Bangladesh [1].
1637
to develop and promote renewable energy sources to mitigate energy
crisis and environmental impacts.
Bangladesh has a plentiful supply of renewable energy res-
ources that could be the effective way to meet the increasing energy
demand. Among the available renewable resources, biomass is con-
sidered as the major one for a supplement of fossil fuels that can be
used not only for rural cooking purpose but also in producing
electricity. The geographical location of the country ensures the
maximum utilization of solar energy. Thus, solar photovoltaic (PV) is
becoming a popular technology mainly in off-grid rural, hill tracks, and
coastal area in Bangladesh. Although the wind and hydropower are
not much widespread, some government and non-government orga-
nizations (NGO) have taken several initiatives for producing electricity
from micro-hydro and small wind turbine. Therefore, renewable
energy utilization in Bangladesh can play a crucial role to attain
energy security.
All the data were collected from thesis, journal articles, conference
proceedings, web materials, reports, books, handbooks on energy and
direct interview of personnel of various organizations implementing
renewable programs. The paper is arranged as follows: Section 2
discusses the geographical location and other related information of
Bangladesh. Section 3 presents the current energy scenario and policy
of Bangladesh. Following this, the potential of available and probable
renewable energy resources in Bangladesh has been discussed in
Sections 4 and 5. Finally, the achievement and future target in the
renewable 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 located
between 201 340 and 261 380 north latitude and 881 010 and 921
410 east longitude with an area of 147,570 km2 [18]. The country
has 7 divisions: Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Barisal, Sylhet,
Khulna, and Rangpur. The country is surrounded by India on the
west, north, and northeast while by Myanmar on the south-east
and the Bay of Bengal on the south. Among the three major
landscapes, only floodplains occupy about 80% of land whereas
hills occupy about 12%, and terraces occupy about 8% [19]. The
plain land of the country is delta shape. Except the hilly regions in
the northeast, most of the low, flat, and fertile lands of the country
are mainly used for cultivation and settlement.
2.2. Population and other information
Bangladesh is a 9th largest country in the world by population with
158.5 million people at the end of year 2014 [20]. The density of
population in the country has increased dramatically from 704.75 per-
son/km2 in 1990 to 1074.07 person/km2 in 2014. The country has 32.1
million households distributed in over 59,229 mauzas. The literacy
rate and the life expectancy in the year 2014 are about 58.8% and 71.10
years respectively [20]. Agriculture is the major occupation for liveli-
hood in Bangladesh due to its fertile land and over 60% of the
populations are directly related to this occupation. The industrial
sector in the country is flourishing due to its plentiful natural
resources, 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,
1638 P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649

Home, village,
Domestic cooking, Tree biomass conventional
parboiling forest

Animal dung Livestock

Agricultural
Agriculture
Residues
Lighting

Bio-gas
Domestic mines

Nonresidential, Kerosene
Energy process heat
demand Import
Coal
Space heating or
cooling Domestic gas
Gas, LPG, CNG
fields

Motive power/ Petroleum fuels Import

traction/
transport/pump
Electricity Grid, PVs,
batteries
generator
Amusement/
leisure Draught power

Energy requirement Usable form Primary sources

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

Bangladesh has the lowest per capita primary energy consumption 60

within the Indian subcontinent. In 2011, per capita primary energy
consumption in Bangladesh was about 205 kilogram oil equivalent 50
(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 noticeable
Percentage (%)

40
that country's per capita average consumption was considerably lower
than Asia's average value of 640 kgoe and far below the world's 30
average of 1680 kgoe. Although the primary energy consumption has
increased by 2.69% from the previous year 2012 to 2013, it remains 20
one of the lowest in the world. The increasing trend of primary energy
consumption in Bangladesh is illustrated in Fig. 1 [1]. 10
Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the economic devel-
opment and standard of living of a country that is greatly affected 0
Gas Biomass Oil Others
by the level of energy consumption. It is estimated that 1%
increase in per capita energy consumption causes an increase in 2009 2010 2011 2012
per capita GDP by 0.23% [22]. Nevertheless, in the year 2012–2013, Fig. 3. Share of total internal energy resources in Bangladesh [26].
the GDP growth rate of Bangladesh about 6.8% was lower com-
pared to the other countries in the world. The growth rate has to
increase to 10% by 2021 for attaining the prosperity and economic
CNG Commercial
stability of the country [23]. Agriculture, industry and service
6% 1%
sectors are the prime contributors to country's economy. However, Household
in the year 2013, only service sector contributes almost half of the 11%
total GDP share [24]. Now-a-days, the share of agriculture sector in
GDP is decreasing due to rapid diminishing of agricultural land, Fertilizer
meanwhile the contribution of service sector and industry sector is 7%
increasing due to urbanization and revolutionary progress in
business and commerce. Electricity
58%
Industry
3.2. Energy demand and consumption pattern
17%
In Bangladesh, all the people fulfill their primary energy
requirements from fossil fuels. In this modern era, the need for
energy in every sector is growing rapidly. The energy demand in Fig. 4. Sector wise use of natural gas in Bangladesh [26].
 P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649 1639

Power Dung Other

generation 17% 0%
19% Electricity
Transport 1%
45% Firewood
44%
Industry Kerosene
6% 2%

Crop
residues
Agricultural 21%
21%
Tree leaves
Domestic 15%
9% Fig. 6. Rural household energy consumption in Bangladesh [28].
Fig. 5. Sector wise use of petroleum fuel in Bangladesh [26].
14

12
Table 1
Annual household energy consumption in Bangladesh (average per household) 10

Percentage (%)
[28].
8
Biomass (kg) Non-biomass 6

Fuel wood 1186.21 Candle (piece) 15.86 4

Tree leaves 501.51 Kerosene (litre) 28.98
2
Crop residue 708.18 Natural gas (BDTa) 9.59
Dung cake/stick 523.90 LPG/LNG (litre) 0.05
0
Sawdust 8.40 Grid electricity (kWh) 143.83
Solar PV (kWh) 0.53
Storage cell (kWh) 0.55
Dry-cell battery (piece) 15.01
GDP growth rate Growth rate of electricity generation
a
Bangladeshi Taka
Fig. 7. Relationship between electricity generation and GDP growth rate [29].

Bangladesh mainly includes cooking, lighting, heating, productive

Hydro, Power Import,
uses, motive power, leisure, and so on. These energy requirements
230 MW 500 MW
are satisfied from various non-renewable and renewable energy (2.15%) (4.67%)
sources as shown in Fig. 2 [25]. Coal, 250 MW
From Fig. 2, it is depicted that the main sources of commercial (2.33%)
energy in Bangladesh are natural gas and oil. However, it is a
matter of hope that the share of natural gas in commercial energy Diesel, 854
consumption is declining gradually and attention has been given MW (7.97%)
to utilize renewable sources like biomass. In the year 2009, the
natural gas consumption was about 50% of total commercial
Furnes Oil,
energy which has been reduced to 42% in year 2012. On the other 2194 MW
Natural Gas,
hand, biomass energy consumption has been increased from 33.3% 6681 MW
(20.49%)
(62.39%)
to 34.1% during this fiscal year as presented in Fig. 3 [26].
Moreover, natural gas and liquid oil are the prime mover for the
economic development of any country like Bangladesh. The
demand for natural gas in every sector except commercial sector Hydro, 230 Import Power,
MW (2.15%) 500 MW Reciprocating
is growing very fast. Currently, about 2180 million cubic feet (4.67%) Engine, 3841
(mmcf) gas is produced against a demand of 2500 mmcf per day MW (35.87%)
[27]. It is expected that the present supply of natural gas will be
Combined
exhausted within next 10–12 years if the existing consumption Cycle, 2006
rate continues. Sector wise use of natural gas in Bangladesh is MW (18.73%)
presented in Fig. 4 [26].
From Fig. 4, it is apparent that Electricity and industry are the
main consumers of natural gas that account for 75% of total
consumption. The remaining resource (25%) is consumed by
fertilizer sectors (7%), household sector (11%), and others (7%). Steam
Gas Turbine,
Turbine, 2578
Moreover, compressed natural gas (CNG) is the rising sector that MW (24.07%)
1554 MW
consumes almost 6% of total natural gas consumption. However, (14.51%)
only 1.5 million households have natural gas supply due to the Fig. 8. Installed electricity capacity as on December, 2014 (A) fuel type and
insufficiency and poor gas transmission and network distribution. (B) plant type [29].
1640 P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649
Petroleum fuel is another crucial commercial energy source in
Bangladesh which mainly contains kerosene, diesel, and petrol.
The transportation sector is the leading consumer of petroleum
fuel with 45% of total consumption. Agriculture sector consumes
about 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 significantly
affects its economy and quality of living standard. However, the
energy consumption depends on the resource availability and
accessibility of the country. In Bangladesh, the household energy
consumption involves various biomass and non-biomass sources
as illustrated in Table 1 [28].
In rural areas, the majority of people primarily rely on biomass
and kerosene for cooking, lighting, feeding, and heating. In
Bangladesh, about 95% of households gather or purchase biomass
energy for cooking whereas in rural areas almost 99% use wood,
cow dung in the form of cake or stick, jute sticks or other
agricultural wastes for cooking. Fig. 6 shows that only firewood
accounts for almost half of the total consumption [28]. In addition,
about 70% of the rural population use kerosene for lighting
purpose.
3.3. Present electricity scenario
Electricity is a typical form of energy and considered as the
most critical input for the technological, industrial, and economic
development. Electricity crisis is one of the recent major concerns
in Bangladesh. Almost 41.1 million people live below the poverty
line in the country. Therefore, sufficient electricity supply must be
needed for country's GDP growth as well as poverty alleviation.
The relationship between the GDP growth rate and electricity
generation growth rate is presented in Fig. 7 [29].
From Fig. 7, it can be shown that the growth rate of electricity
generation was 5.5% in the fiscal year 2006–2007, which has
increased to 13.2% in the fiscal year 2012–2013. Alternatively, the
GDP growth rate has increased to 6.8% in the fiscal year 2012–2013
from 6.15% in the fiscal year 2006–2007.
In Bangladesh, the electricity generation is highly dependent on
fossil fuel especially on natural gas. Upto December 2014, total
installed capacity was about 10,709 MW including 5880 MW from
public sector and 4829 MW from private sector, where only
natural gas accounts for 62.39% raw material for the power
production. Fig. 8 presents a snapshot of installed electricity
capacity 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% (including
renewable energy) of the total population from 47% with per
10000
8000
6000
MW
4000
2000
0
Installed Capacity Generation Capacity
Maximum Demand Load Shedding
Fig. 9. Electricity crisis scenario in Bangladesh [29,30].
capita generation of 348 kWh, which is very low compared to
other developing countries. As a part of government's vision 2021,
initiatives have already been taken to electrify all the areas of the
country. Although the electricity generation is increased by a
remarkable amount in the year 2012–2013, there still exists a load
shedding of 1000 MW. Fig. 9 illustrates an overview of the power
sector of Bangladesh [29,30].
It is obvious from Fig. 9 that the total electricity generation
capacity 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, the
maximum generation has increased to 6350 MW in the fiscal year
2012–2013 with an average annual increase rate of 10.51% from
4162 MW in the fiscal year 2008–2009. It is also seen from Fig. 9
that the annual installed capacity is higher than the annual
demand except in the years of 2008–2011. In spite of this, there
was load shedding prevailing due to the low efficiency of the older
power plants and shortage of fuel supply.
The number of beneficiaries and consumers of grid-connected
electricity in the country are increasing remarkably. In the fiscal
year 2012, total grid connection was increased to 13.2 million from
10.80 million in 2009 comprising of 11 million in households and
1.4 million in commercial connections.
In the year 2011, electricity consumption in Bangladesh was
about 39,533 GWh. Nevertheless, it is expected to increase the
total electricity demand in 2035 to about 192.70 TWh [31]. There-
fore, it is essential to include alternative options in future energy
policy to electrify the rural areas as grid power supply in those
areas is not economically viable due to the high cost of distribution
and associated transmission losses.
4. Prominent renewable energy resources in Bangladesh
Renewable energies are the resources that are reproduced
continuously by natural manners, can be reused due to their
environment-friendly and sustainable properties. Renewable ener-
gies especially include solar, biomass, wind, hydropower, and
geothermal energy exclusion of exhaustible resources like fossil
fuels 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, and
solar energy are considered the most favorable and effective
resources. However, we are still far lagging behind in the use of
these energies, whereas, the renewable energy utilization in the
world has already become prevalent. A summary of renewable
energy potentials and contributing entities in Bangladesh is shown
in Table 2 [33]. In Bangladesh, renewable energy shares only 1.0%
of country's total energy mix whereas, in the world it accounts
almost 19% of total energy consumption [34]. However, the
country has a plan to increase the renewable energy utilization
for 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 the
most prominent renewable and sustainable energy resource that
can be stored and transferred. Biomass consumes CO2 for photo-
synthesis in the presence of solar energy to produce organic
compounds required for its growth. Therefore, it is well-thought-
out that biomass is physically CO2 neutral as it absorbs exactly the
same or more amount of CO2 in growing that it releases due to the
 P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649 1641

Renewable Energy Resources/

Technologies

Hydro Energy Biomass Energy Geothermal Energy Solar Energy Marine Energy Wind Energy

Bioenergy for Bioenergy Biofuel Biogas Solar PV Concentrating Solar Heating Offsore Onsore
electricity for heat Solar Heating

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

Table 2
Renewable energy potential in Bangladesh [33].

Resources Potential Entities involved

Solar Enormous Public and private

sector
Wind Resource mapping required Public sector/PPP
Hydro Limited potential for micro or mini-hydro (max. 5 MW). Estimated hydro potential approximately Mainly public entities
500 MW
Domestic biogas system 8.6 million m3 of biogas Public and private
sector
Rice husk based biomass gasification power 300 MW considering 2 kg of husk consumption per kWh Mainly private sector
plant
Cattle waste based biogas power plants 350 MW considering 0.752 m3 of biogas consumption per kWh Mainly private sector

Water
Electricity

Mixing
Sun Cooking and
Animal
Diegester Biogas lighting
manure

Anaerobic
CO2 in atmosphere conversion
Slurry
Sugars, Amino
Conbustion Conbustion acids, Fatty acids
Used as fish
Biogas feed in pond
Hydrocarbons Natural Biomass Harvesting ( CH4, CO2, H2S) Used as
Synfuels fertilizer
production growth conversion
H2, CO2,
Organic acids
Fossilization
and recovery Harvesting Conversion
Fig. 12. An outline of biogas production and its utilization.
Consumption Feeds and Consumption
Wastes Wastes
disposal foodstuff products disposal
burning as a fuel. The conversion of biomass energy sources and
Fig. 11. Main features of the biomass energy technology with carbon cycle [35]. carbon cycle are schematically illustrated in Fig. 11 [35].
Bangladesh has a huge amount of biomass resources that
includes rice husk, crop residue, wood, jute stick, animal waste,
municipal waste, sugarcane bagasse and other related sources due
Table 3 to its rain fed ecosystem. Moreover, almost 70% of people rely on
Total biomass potential in Bangladesh in 2012–2013 [36]. biomass energy directly or indirectly. However, in the world about
2.6 billion people depend on biomass for cooking and heating. In
Biomass Biomass Energy Electricity Coal Gas
sources generation content generation equivalent equivalent
fiscal year 2013, traditional biomass share was almost 60% of
(million tons) (PJ) (TWh) (million (BCM)a world's total biomass consumption, whereas, only 1.8% of total
tons) electricity was generated from biomass [34].
Agriculture is the main economic activity in Bangladesh and
Agricultural 94.10 582.33 161.80 19.88 14.72
almost 64% of total lands are used for this purpose. Therefore, the
residues
Forest 17.44 210.64 58.53 7.19 5.33 country has a vast scope of generation of residues from various
residues agricultural crops including rice, sugarcane, vegetables, wheat,
Livestock 88.89 456.41 126.81 15.58 11.54 jute, pulses, coconut, maize, millet, cotton, and groundnut culti-
residues vated year-round in the country. Rice is the main agricultural crop
MSW 13.38 95.61 26.57 3.26 2.42
Total 213.81 1344.99 373.71 45.91 34.01
produced almost 34.36 million tons in 2013–2014 that covers
about 96.35% of total food grains. Total agricultural crops produc-
a
Billion cubic meters. tion in fiscal year 2012–2013 was about 61.09 million tons.
1642 P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649

160 4
140 3.5
Sun 120 3
Battery 100 2.5

Million
MW
80 2
Solar radiation 60 1.5
40 1
Solar panel Charge controller Loads 20 0.5
0 0
Fig. 13. A schematic illustration of solar energy utilization.

7 Jan
Numbers Capacity
6 Feb
Mar Fig. 15. Increasing trend of SHS installation.
5
April
kWh/m2

4 May
Jun Table 4
3
Solar energy potential in Bangladesh.
July
2
Aug Technology Potential power (MW) Reference
1 Sep
CSP 100 [52]
0 Oct
Grid connected solar PV 50,174 [53]
Nov SHS 234 [33]
Dec

Fig. 14. Solar radiation of some selected areas [42–44].
Furthermore, most of the family in Bangladesh has livestock
including cattle, buffalo, goat, and sheep and poultry such as
chicken and duck. In the year 2012–2013, the country had 53.02
million livestock and 293.235 million poultry. However, this
animal manures and human excreta would be a massive biomass
potential in Bangladesh. On the other hand, a considerable amount
of forest residues including tree leaves, twigs, bark, roots, and saw
dusts contributes in the biomass energy sector. Because of rapid
urbanization, Bangladesh is producing a huge amount of municipal
and industrial waste considered as the source of energy.
Therefore, the agricultural and forest residues, livestock
excreta, and municipal wastes can play a vital role in heating as
well as power generation. These biomass resources can be con-
verted to fuel for the electricity generation plant through various
technologies like biogas plant, gasification, pyrolysis, and so on. In
the fiscal year 2012–2013, Bangladesh had almost 213.81 million
tons biomass generation potential equivalent to 1344.99 peta
joules (PJ). The resources had an annual energy potential of
45.91 million tons of coal equivalent that can produce about
373.71 trillion watt hour (TWh) of electricity in renewable and
sustainable basis as shown in Table 3 [36].
Apart from the above mentioned, biogas is a gaseous fuel
produced through the disintegration of biomass primarily animal
manure, human excreta, and organic solid wastes in the absence of
air 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 can
be used as fertilizer and fish feed as illustrated in Fig. 12. Given
these points, Bangladesh has a vast potential for biogas generation
from her existing residue and waste resources. A study found that,
it could be possible to produce about 2.91 billion m3 of biogas
from available animal dung in 2012–2013 which is equivalent to
1.455 billion litres of diesel [36].
In Bangladesh, biogas plant is getting popularity among the
rural people. Up to October 2014, almost 79,612 domestic biogas
plants have been installed all over the country by Infrastructure
Development Company Limited (IDCOL) and some government
organizations. Moreover, IDCOL has already financed two rice husk
gasification power plants of capacity 250 kW and 400 kW and
eight biogas based electricity generation plants. Conversely, China
and India have about 45 million and 5 million biogas plant
respectively.
Last but not the least, bio-fuel is an emerging energy source in
transport sector all over the world. In the year 2013, bio-fuel
production and consumption in the world was about 116.6 billion
litres [34]. In Bangladesh, bio-fuel production is in an embryonic
stage where ten pyrolysis plants have been established to produce
bio-oil from waste tire and other biomasses. However, the plants
are not working properly due to lack of appropriate maintenance
and technical knowledge. Although there are no energy crops for
the production of bio-fuel commercially, Pongamia pinnata and
Jatropha curcas can be effectively cultivated for production of
biodiesel [37–40]. Biomass briquette is a compact solid fuel of
loose biomass having higher calorific value than the biomass
produced from. The recent potential of rice husk can produce
about 1 million ton of briquette equivalent to 1.63–1.67 million ton
of fuel wood [3]. However, the country is producing only 19,881 t
of 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) are
promising technologies throughout the world for producing elec-
tricity utilizing the solar radiation. Bangladesh has a huge scope of
utilizing solar radiation due to her geographical location. She
receives an average daily solar radiation of 4–6.5 kWh/m2 that
can produce approximately 1018  1018 J energy. In addition,
country's recent primary energy consumption of 26.7 Mtoe is alike
to 1.12  1018 J that is only 0.11% of total solar radiation. Monthly
solar radiation of some selected districts and Islands in the country
is presented in Fig. 14 [42–44].
 P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649
Solar PV plays a substantial role in global electricity generation
and shares about 0.7% of total electricity generation. On the other
hand, it shares nearly 7.8% of annual electricity production in Italy,
6% in Greece and 5% in Germany. In the year 2013, the power
production in the world was increased to 139 GW and 3.4 GW
from solar PV and CSP respectively. China and Japan are the Asian
leading countries producing approximately 20 GW and 13.6 GW
solar power respectively [34].
In the same token, the solar home system is a more attractive
and effective solar technology in Bangladesh perspective. Several
studies mention the successful implementation of solar energy
utilization for rural and off-grid electrification through solar PV
and home system [45–50]. IDCOL has started its solar program in
2003 and so far up to October 2014, a total of 3357609 SHSs have
been disseminated all over the country through its 47 partner
organizations funded by World Bank. On the other hand, Grameen
Shakti is the pioneer partner organization of IDCOL having
installed almost 56% of total SHSs. Total installed capacity of SHS
has 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 potential
from SHSs [33].
Furthermore, solar concentrating power is another efficient
technology for harnessing solar energy and found to be suitable in
Rajshahi district [51]. The annual average direct normal insolation
in the country could be able to produce about 100 MW of
electricity through this technology [52]. Grid-connected solar PV
or mini-grid concept would bring a new dimension in the sector of
solar energy utilization. Bangladesh has a potential of 50,174 MW
grid connected solar PV as presented in Table 4. However, the
country is producing only 3 MW from roof top solar plants
connected to grid. On the other hand, Japan and USA have already
installed about 300 MW and 70 MW grid-connected PV systems
[54] respectively. Bangladesh power development board and
power division has also installed combined cycle plants, solar
irrigation pumps, LED street light, and hot box cooker.
4.3. Hydro energy
Hydro means water, so hydropower is a form of renewable
energy that is harnessed from water flow. Water head is converted
into electric energy from kinetic energy by coupling turbine shaft
to a generator. Fig. 16 represents the schematic diagram of hydro-
power generation [55].
Tailrace
Water
Water flow valve
Dams
Water Synchronous
Tidal turbine generator
barrage
Speed control
Fig. 16. Schematic diagram of hydropower generation [55].
Table 5
Classification hydropower plants [56].
Large hydro More than 100 MW and usually feeding into a large electricity grid
Medium hydro 15–100 MW-usually feeding a grid
Small hydro 1–15 MW-usually feeding into a grid
Mini-hydro Above 100 kW, but below 1 MW; either stand-alone schemes or more often feeding into the grid
Micro-hydro From 5 kW up to 100 kW; usually provided power for a small community or rural industry in remote areas away from the grid
Pico-hydro From a few hundred watts up to 5 kW
1643
The electrical power generated from water head is obtained
from the following equation:
P¼γ Q H ð1Þ
where P ¼power generated (W), γ ¼ specific weight of water (N/
m3), Q¼ flow rate of water (m3/s), and H ¼water head (m).
Hydropower generation is dependent on the water head and
may be varied from watt to megawatt power. Table 5 demonstrates
the classification of hydropower plants [56]. Micro-hydropower
plant can generate up to 100 kW power and normally used for
small community, industry, and so on in remote and isolated off-
grid areas. On the contrary, large power plants can generate more
than 100 MW electric power typically used for feeding into large
grid connection. However, almost 50% of the total hydropower is
lost due to the channel, penstock, turbine, generator, and trans-
mission losses.
Small scale hydropower became prevalent and acceptable
throughout the world due to its simplicity, low cost, reliability,
and environmental sustainability. In year 2013, world's total
installed hydropower capacity reached approximately 1000 GW
and electricity generation capacity to 3750 TWh with an increase
of 4% over the previous year. It shares about 3.8% of global primary
energy consumption and 16.4% of global electricity generation.
China is the leading hydropower generation country having a total
capacity of almost 260 GW that accounts to about 26% of the total
capacity as illustrated in Fig. 17 [34].
Bangladesh is a country of numerous canals and branches of
the rivers, hence, has a good scope of hydropower extraction.
However, the rivers and Chittagong hill tracts are more suitable for
micro-hydropower plant due to low cost and low current speed. In
1981, hydropower assessment of Bangladesh water development
board (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) project
under Local government engineering department (LGED) has also
explored some possible sites for micro-hydropower plants in
Chittagong areas in 2004 with an estimated power capacity of
135 kW as presented in Table 7 [57]. With the initiative of this
300
250
200
Capacity (GW)
150
100
50
AC
power
0
Fig. 17. Hydropower capacity of top 9 countries, 2013 [34].
1644 P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649

Table 6
Potential 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 4

Chittagong Choto Kumira 15
Chittagong Hinguli Chara 12
Chittagong hill tracts Sealock 81
Chittagong Lungichara 10
Chittagong Budiachara 10
Sylhet Nikhari Chara 26
Sylhet Madhab Chara 1500 ft. from fall 78
Sylhet Rangapani Gung 616
Jamalpur Bhugai-Kongsa at 2 miles U/S. of Nalitabari 69 for 10 months
Jamalpur Marisi at Dukabad near Jhinaigati 35 for 10 months
Dinajpur Dahuk at Burabari 24
Chawai at U/S of Chawai L.L.P 32
Talam at U/S of Talam L.L.P 24
Pathraj at Fulbari 32
Tangon at D/S of Nargun L.L.P 48
Punarbhaba at Singraban 11
Rangpur Buri Khora Chikli at Nizbari 32
Fulkumar at Raiganj Bazar 48

Table 7 Table 8
Potential of micro-hydropower sites identified by SRE project under LGED [57]. Taxonomy of wind turbines [58,59].

Site Expected power Socio-economic infrastructure Scale Rotor diameter Power rating
generation (kW) within 1 km
Micro Less than 3 m 50 W to 2 kW
House- School/Mosque/ Small Small 3 m to 12 m 2 kW to 40 kW
hold Bazaar/Clinic industry Medium 12 m to 45 m 40 kW to 999 kW
Large 46 m and large More than 1.0 MW
Nunchari 3 100 3 1
Tholipara,
Khagrachari
Chang-oo-Para, 30 200 5 2 4.4. Wind energy
Bandarban
Bangchari, 25 600 12 5
Wind power is one of the most imperative eco-friendly sources
Bandarban
Liragaon, 20 500 8 3
of renewable energy that is harnessed from wind speed. A simple
Bandarban approach for the conversion of wind speed into electrical power is
Kamalchar, 20 150 8 9 displayed in Fig. 18. The kinetic energy of the moving air is
Rangamati converted into the mechanical power of turbine shaft and then
Thang Khrue, 30 300 6 3
into electrical energy through a generator.
Rangamati
Monjaipara, 7.5 50 3 – The theoretical amount of electrical power can be estimated by
Bandarban the following equation. However, only 30–35% of this power is
practically available for utilization.

project, first micro-hydropower plant in Bangladesh has been 1

established at Bamerchara, Chittagong of installing capacity of
10 kW. The plant uses cross-flow turbine and has been designed
considering 150 l per second flow rate with a penstock length
52 m for 6–10 m water head [57].
In Bangladesh, the first hydro-power generation plant was
installed in the Karnafuli river basin in 1962 with two units of
capacity 40 MW each through BPDB. By the year 1988, three more
units of capacity 50 MW each were installed and the total installed
capacity rose to 230 MW. This is commonly known as Kaptai
hydroelectric power plant that uses vertical axis Kaplan turbine.
There is a future plan of adding another 100 MW capacity in this
plant. Bangladesh has almost 1897 MW hydropower potential
comprising of 330 MW in Karnafuli river basin, 87 MW in Sangu
river basin, 80 MW in Matamuhuri river basin, and 1400 MW in
Brahmaputra river basin. BPDB has already installed a 50 kW
micro-hydropower plant at Barkal upazila of Rangamati district
in 2005 and also financing a 50–70 kW Mohamaya irrigation-cum-
hydropower project at Mirersorai, Chittagong [29].
P¼  ρ  A  V3 ð2Þ
2
where P ¼power generated (W), ρ ¼density of air (kg/m3),
A¼swept area of turbine blade (m2), and V¼ wind speed (m/s).
Wind power generation is entirely dependent on the wind
speed as well as the size, number, and orientation of blades of the
turbine used. On the basis of power generation rating turbines are
classified in micro, small, medium, and large-scale turbines as
revealed in Table 8 [58,59]. Among them, small scale wind
turbines are more suitable for battery charging, stand-alone
applications, and small grid connections.
Global wind power generation increased by 35 GW in the year
2013 and reached to 318 GW as shown in Fig. 19 [34]. Wind power
shares almost 2.9% of world's total electricity generation in 2013.
China is the largest wind power generation country in the world of
total installed capacity 91.4 GW in 2013 comprising about 14.1 GW
for grid connection and 75.5 GW for commercial operation. Ger-
many has the Europe's largest installed capacity of 34.7 GW and is
 P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649 1645

Variable speed
fixed pitch Asynchronous
blades generator
Surplus AC
energy Inverter
Windmill Rectifier power
dump
Variable
voltage and
frequency Voltage DC control
regulator unit Battery

DC
power

Fig. 18. Representation of wind power generation.

350

300

250
Capacity (GW)

200

150

100

50

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

12 2.5
10 2.4
8 2.3
2.2
6
m/s
m

2.1
4 2
2 1.9
0 1.8

Reference height Annual average wind speed

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

Table 9
Wind 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 Functioning
Hybrid 7500 Cyclone shelter in the coastal region Functioning
BRAC Stand-alone 900 Coastal region Functioning
Hybrid 4320 Coastal region Functioning
Bangladesh Army Stand-alone 400 Chittagong hill tracts Functioning
IFRD Stand-alone 1100 Teknaf Functioning
Stand-alone 600 Meghnaghat Functioning
LGED Wind-PV hybrid 400 Kuakata Functioning
Total capacity (kW) 19.72 – –
 1646 P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649

Table 11
Tidal 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 3.912
Sundarikota  0.553 0.036 0.636 1.829 3.022 3.694 4.211 4.764
Mongla  0.261 0.325 1.194 2.310 3.427 4.296 4.882 5.143
Khal no. 10  0.444 0.261 1.231 2.664 4.097 5.067 5.772 6.216
Sadarghat  0.423 0.239 1.100 2.481 3.861 4.722 5.385 5.808
Cox's Bazar  0.339 0.205 1.023 1.995 2.967 3.785 4.329 4.668
S. Island  0.348 0.191 1.045 1.874 2.703 3.557 4.096 4.444
Sandwip  0.583 0.238 1.634 3.243 4.851 6.248 7.070 7.653
Char Changa  0.375 0.256 1.060 2.037 3.014 3.818 4.449 4.824
Khepupara  0.323 0.195 1.025 2.060 3.096 3.925 4.445 4.768
C. Ramdaspur  0.261 0.189 0.763 2.036 3.309 3.883 4.333 4.594
Barisal þ0.134 0.434 0.692 1.539 2.386 2.644 2.944 2.810
Chandpur þ0.019 0.256 0.493 2.172 3.852 4.088 4.326 4.307
Nalmuri þ0.078 0.370 0.722 2.195 3.669 4.021 4.313 4.235
Narayanganj þ0.458 0.585 0.697 2.770 4.844 4.956 5.083 4.625
Galachipa  0.159 0.283 0.937 1.764 2.592 3.245 3.689 3.848
Patuakhali  0.143 0.242 0.740 1.575 2.409 2.907 3.293 3.436

Explanation: MLWS¼ Mean Low Water Spring, MHWS¼Mean High Water Spring, MHWN¼ Mean High Water Neap, MLWN¼ Mean Low Water Neap, ML ¼ Mean Level,
AT ¼Astronomical Tide, LAT ¼ Lowest Astronomical Tide, HAT ¼Highest Astronomical Tide, TR¼ Difference between lowest and highest tidal height in m.

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

2.5
Capacity (GW)

Category Achievement (MW)

2
SHS 150
1.5 Solar irrigation 1
Roof top solar PV at different buildings 14
1
Wind energy 2
0.5 Biomass based electricity o1
Biogas based electricity 5
0
Hydropower 230
Total 403

Fig. 21. Electric power capacity from geothermal energy of top country, 2013 [34].
Table 13
Expected participation of public sectors in renew-
able energy development [33].
Table 10
Geothermal gradients as noted in some deep wells of Bangladesh [63]. Category Total capacity (MW)

Well name Depth (km) Gradient (K/km) Solar 25

Wind 235
Hazipur 3816 30.9 Total 260
Bakhrabad 12,837 25.0
Titas 13,758 30.1
Habigonj 13,509 31.6
scale wind turbines may be viable for some regions (Fig. 20) that
Rashidpur 13,861 26.8
Biani Bazar 14,107 28.7 can be an effective option for stand-alone electricity [61].
Kailas Tila 14,139 27.8 In Bangladesh, BPDB installed the first wind power generation
Sylhet 12,377 31.1 plant at Muhuri dam area of Sonagazi in Feni of installed capacity
Chhatak 12,133 33.8 0.90 MW that includes four units of capacity 225 kW each. In
Semutang 14,088 30.3
Begamganj 13,656 31.7
addition, BPDB has already installed another 1 MW wind battery
hybrid power plant at Kutubdia Island in the year 2008 which
consists of 50 wind turbines of 20 kW capacity each. The present
generating 53.4 TWh of electricity whereas the neighboring coun- installed capacity of wind power by BPDB reaches 2 MW [29].
try India has an installed capacity of 20.2 GW. Besides, different government and non-government institutions
Bangladesh has some potential sites including 724 km long have installed some hybrid and stand-alone wind power plants as
coast line and several small Islands in the Bay of Bengal for wind presented in Table 9, though their capacity is very small [62].
power extraction especially in monsoon season. Wind speed of Moreover, BPDB has completed one year wind resources
more than 7 m/s is feasible for large scale grid connected elec- assessment in Muhuri dam area of Feni, Mognamaghat of Cox's
tricity production; however, a lower wind speed of 2.5 m/s can be Bazar, Parky beach of Anwara in Chittagong, Kepupara of Borguna,
utilized for power extraction by upgrading the blade design and and Kuakata of Patuakhali and taken necessary initiatives to install
aerodynamics. Bangladesh center for advance studies (BCAS), 15 MW wind power plant. BPDB also has a plan for implementa-
Bangladesh metrological department (BMD), and LGED found that tion of another 0.90 MW pilot project at Kuakata. Recently,
the speed of wind varies from 2.96 to 4.54 m/s at a height of 25 Bangladesh signed an agreement with US DK Green energy (BD)
and 50 m in different parts of Bangladesh [60]. Therefore, small- Ltd., a joint project of Bangladesh, Denmark, and USA for installing
 P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649 1647

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

Category Average unit capacity Target Total capacity (MW)

SHS 39 W 6 million 234

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

Furthermore, oceanic wave and tides of the storms would be

Table 15
Expected projects implementation by the private sectors in 500 MW solar program
another source of renewable energy in Bangladesh as almost two
[65]. or three cyclones hit in the Bay of Bengal every year. Seven gauge
stations installed at the Saint Martin Island have found that the
Projects Capacity Island has about 1–2 m tidal head that can be used by particular
(MW)
technology for power generation. Bangladesh has some tidal level
Solar mini-grid 25 sites (Table 11) though no initiatives have been taken to explore
Solar irrigation pump 150 power yet [64]. On the contrary, Global ocean energy capacity at
Solar park 135 the end of 2013 was about 530 MW that comes from ocean waves,
Solar roof-top (residential &commercial buildings) (industrial 10 tidal rise and fall, and tidal currents.
buildings) 20
Total 340

6. Recent achievement and future target in renewable energy

Table 16
Expected projects implementation by the public sectors in 500 MW solar program
[65].
Projects Capacity (MW)
Solar electrification in health centers 50
Solar electrification in remote educational institutions 40
Solar electrification at union e-centers 7 policy in year 2008 to encourage different public and private
Solar electrification at religious establishment 12
Solar electrification at remote railway stations 10
Solar PV system in government &semi-government offices 41
Total 160
the country's largest ever wind power plant of capacity 60 MW at
Cox's Bazar.
5. Other probable renewable energy resources in Bangladesh
Besides biomass, solar, wind, and hydro energy, Bangladesh has
the potential of the oceanic wave, tidal power, and geothermal
energy for electricity generation in future. However, the potential
of these resources is still under investigation and necessary efforts
have been given to make them affordable and viable in Bangladesh
context.
Geothermal energy is considered eco-friendly, local and sus-
tainable, independent of wind and sun variation that can be used
in the form of electricity. In the year 2013, world's total geothermal
energy 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 in
world's total oil and gas reserves. United States was the largest
geothermal electric power generating country of capacity 3.4 GW
(Fig. 21) in the year 2013 [34]. In Bangladesh, geothermal energy
resources are yet to be in assessment stages due to lack of proper
knowledge, technology, and equipment to extract them though
the country has some thermal gradient sites (Table 10) [63].
Therefore, utmost importance has to be given to evaluate the
geothermal resources and how they can play a role in the renew-
able energy sector of the country.
development in Bangladesh
Electricity generation and distribution are the burning issues in
the country and great challenge for the government. However, the
addition 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 energy
organizations for investment in replacement of indigenous non-
renewable energy sources. From then, utilization, research activ-
ities, and development of renewable energy resources are growing
very fast; however, the commercial utilization of these resources is
still far behind in the country's context. Recently, country's
capacity of renewable sources based electricity generation is raised
to almost 403 MW including both governments' contribution
in large scale grid connected power generation and private's
contribution in off-grid home based power generation as depicted
in Table 12 [33].
According to Power system master plan 2010, electricity gen-
eration capacity of Bangladesh would be increased to 16,000 MW
by the year 2016 and 39,000 MW by the year 2030 [29]. To achieve
this target, the government has set a plan to use coal as dominat-
ing fuel for future power generation and already has taken
initiatives to set up two big coal-fired power plants at Khulna
and Chittagong of capacity 1320 MW each. Besides, GOB has
started the construction of nuclear power plant due to clean form
of 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 the
year 2030.
However, it is just not enough to achieve the target without
incorporating the generation from renewable resources. Government
has given emphasis on energy extraction from renewable sources and
targeted to develop at least 500 MW power from these by the end of
year 2015; however, it is evident that only collaboration between
public and private sectors will boost up the initiatives to reach the
landmark. Some government institutions like REB, BPDB, LGED and
BCSIR have already implemented several renewable energy projects.
On the other hand, IDCOL is a pioneer in the field of renewable energy
technology dissemination that is developing its renewable energy
market through numerous partner organizations. Tables 13 and 14
1648 P.K. Halder et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1636–1649
present the expected contribution of government and nongovernment
organizations in the advancement of renewable energy in the next 2–3
years [33].
Bangladesh is leading the way of solar energy utilization.
Currently, the government has initiated a massive solar power
program of capacity 500 MW with the encouragement and fund-
ing of Asian Development Bank [33]. The project is expected to be
completed by the year 2016 through the participation of private
sectors of capacity 340 MW mainly for commercial purposes and
public sectors of capacity 160 MW mainly for social benefits
(Tables 15 and 16) [65]. Furthermore, the government and private
institutions have commenced several wind and biomass-based
power generation projects.
7. Conclusion
In Bangladesh, still natural gas accounts for almost 72.42% of
total electricity generation fuel mix in the fiscal year 2013–2014.
On the other hand, only 2.5% of total electricity generation comes
from renewable sources which comparing the global generation is
really insignificant. Although, GOB has a plan to add 4000 MW
nuclear power in country's power generation mix by the year
2030, it would not be enough to meet the power demand
approximately 34,000 MW. Therefore, for the assurance of energy
security and insufficient potential of indigenous energy sources,
initial must be taken to promote alternative and sustainable
energy solution in the country. More research is needed for the
development of the energy sector, so that the access to modern,
reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy services would play a
positive role in economic and social progress in Bangladesh.
Government must work together with private organizations and
international donor agencies for providing economic support for
renewable energy to create awareness among the people.
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