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Published : 26 Jun 2025, 05:17 PM
Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has directed authorities to take initiatives to generate power by installing solar panels on the rooftops of all government buildings throughout Bangladesh.
The directive came on Thursday during a meeting titled “National Rooftop Solar Programme” at the State Guest House Jamuna, according to a statement from the Chief Advisor’s Office (CAO).
Yunus suggested exploring private sector involvement in installing solar panels on government buildings.
“Consider whether private initiatives can take the lead,” he said. “Those who install the panels will have a vested interest in maintaining and operating them efficiently. The government would only need to provide the rooftops, everything else would be handled by the private parties.”
He stressed the importance of learning from existing rooftop solar projects. “We need to understand the experiences of institutions that have already implemented such systems—what challenges they faced, and how we can work to address those issues moving forward.”
In this process, the government schools, colleges, and madrasas will be exempted from paying bills for electricity consumption and the institutions will get rent for the roofs used for solar power generation, the CAO said.
Officers present at the meeting said, according to the 2024 report of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Bangladesh is far behind its neighbouring countries in expanding solar power and meeting the set targets.
India produces 24 percent of the total electricity demand from solar energy, Pakistan 17.16 percent, and Sri Lanka 39.7 percent, while Bangladesh produces only 5.6 percent of the total electricity demand from solar power.
According to the Renewable Energy Policy 2025, the target for generation from renewable energy has been set at 20 percent of the total power demand by 2030 and 30 percent by 2040.
To achieve this target, the tender process for 55 land-based solar power plants with a capacity of 5,238MW has already started. However, the official concerned said it will take time until 2028 to implement it.
