Purchase price per unit of solar power is 3.50 in India, 10-11 taka in Bangladesh

 Solar electricity cost in India is 3.5 BDT/Unit while it is 10-11 BDT in Bangladesh. How can we reduce this in Bangladesh? Few opinions share below from different expertise

1. First and foremost remove all duties and taxes on import of solar panels and accessories. There is apparently 10-40% or more tax on these items. I don’t know how much revenue national board of revenue is bringing from this duties but I am confident Bangladesh can make billions in saving if switch from fossil fuel to renewables. Sometimes we need to look at economic cost not the accounting cost of things.

2. Let the private sector purchase electricity from private sector. It is usually more competitive and efficient. Will bring the price and cost down significantly. Government should reduce offering PPAs and let the private sector play among themselves. Corporate power purchase agreements and auction markets that’s what you need. What do we have in India? Open access and group captives, follow these models may be…

3. We need massive investment in our grids, we need to make it smarter and going forward we will have to think about batteries. Right now this may not be very cost effective but the battieries are also getting cheaper with time, we should start planning now so we don’t get late to the game..

4. And land, yes, I don’t agree there is land availability problem in Bangladesh, the problem is more on land procurement. Make this process of land acquiring simpler and most importantly the government lands, make sure you are making the best use of it. All the big government buildings and roofs, all the empty lands of railways and other ministries, any space that you can see, question: why have not we put solar there?