A developing country perspective on implementing sustainable energy programs

Bangladesh is a developing country faced with many challenges such as high population growth rate, low literacy levels, and poverty. One of its most difficult tasks is providing the infrastructure necessary to sustain a growing population with a finite resource base. There is a need to develop a long term energy strategy that relies on sustainable resources while reducing environmental harm. Solar energy has the potential to meet these requirements and presents a highly attractive energy source for Bangladesh. Bangladesh is fortunate enough to have a significant amount of solar irradiance. A number of projects have been started in Bangladesh to exploit renewable energy resources. This paper will highlight the current status of these projects. Major interest and activity is directed towards development of photovoltaic and wind resources. The market for renewable technologies is vast in Bangladesh where a significant portion of the population is off-grid and in need of energy. Although this is not an affluent market technology costs have come down sufficiently such that it is becoming accessible to rural populations with credit schemes. While developing sustainable energy is a worthwhile goal and much encouraged by donor agencies, Bangladesh`s perspective on attempting to develop this sector suggests thatmore » it is not an easy road to follow, due to numerous internal and external barriers. A discussion of the barriers to the commercialization of renewables will be included in this paper. The objective of this paper is to shed some light on these issues and to stimulate discussions on how to overcome the barriers and encourage the dissemination of renewables in developing countries.« less