Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday said the government has taken a range of initiatives to promote renewable energy, including financial incentives for rooftop solar power as part of efforts to address the country’s energy crisis.
Replying to a question from MP Nilufar Chowdhury Moni, the prime minister said the government has conditionally exempted essential solar power equipment, including solar panels, inverters and batteries, from customs duty, regulatory duty, supplementary duty, advance tax and an additional 2% advance income tax.
He said the government would purchase electricity supplied to the national grid from rooftop solar systems installed within the next six months at Tk10.15 per unit.
“This means the government will provide an incentive in addition to the bulk rate,” Tarique said.
He said the arrangement could create an opportunity for up to 45% profit, including 40% profit and a 5% premium, based on an average production cost of Tk6-7 per unit.
The incentive will remain applicable for three years, the prime minister said.
Tarique said the government has also launched a National Rooftop Solar Program to install rooftop solar systems on government buildings, educational institutions, hospitals and other important facilities.
“A guideline has already been prepared for implementing the program, while special allocations have been provided to various ministries, divisions and agencies,” he said.
Rooftop solar systems have already been installed at the offices of all deputy commissioners and divisional commissioners, the prime minister said.
He said initiatives have also been taken to generate electricity from hydropower, wind and waste.
“I hope that once these initiatives are implemented, it will be possible to tackle the energy crisis and increase the use of renewable energy,” Tarique said.
10-year power, energy plan in the works
Replying to a supplementary question from Comilla-10 MP Mobasher Alam Bhuiyan, Tarique said the government has already prepared a 10-year plan for the power and energy sectors.
“Some examinations and assessments are still underway,” he said.
The prime minister said the minister in charge of the energy ministry would soon present the plan before Parliament and the nation.
He said the plan would outline how the government intends to develop the power and energy sectors over the next decade to help achieve the target of turning Bangladesh into a trillion-dollar economy by 2034.
PM weighs open-pit coal mining in Fulbari
Replying to a supplementary question from MP Sabikun Nahar Munni about open-pit coal mining, Tarique said the government would consider extracting coal from Fulbari if it could help address the country’s energy crisis.
He said the coal in Fulbari was among the highest-quality coal in the world.
“If we can extract this coal and address our energy crisis, it will certainly be good for the country as it will save foreign currency,” the prime minister said.
However, Tarique said any decision on open-pit mining would take into account the impact on residents, agricultural land and the environment.
“If open-pit mining is required, naturally there are homes and agricultural land there. We will first decide how those people can be properly resettled,” he said.
The prime minister also said the government would ensure that affected people’s livelihoods were not disrupted and that they could benefit in some way from the project.
“Any decision will be taken after reviewing all these issues and giving due importance to environmental concerns,” he said.
The question-answer session began at 3:30pm, with the first 30 minutes allocated for questions to the prime minister. He answered four written questions and six supplementary questions during the session.
