Creating space for renewables

As a nation dealing with challenges with respect to our energy needs and also the impact our chosen energy mix will have on our environment, it is important that Bangladesh gets this right. 

While we may not be ready yet to transition away from fossil fuels, and the immediate future of our energy needs will largely be fossil fuel-dependent, we must still, year after year, recognize the importance of renewable sources of energy and continue to invest in them.

To that end, the recent partnership between Germany’s RAAC Solar and Safari Trade International, a local leader in renewable technologies, signals the kind of collaboration we need to start seeing. 

If we are serious about charting a pathway to a sustainable, prosperous future, domestic ambition will not be enough. Instead, it is forging genuine international partnerships that bring expertise, innovation, and investment that will be key.

The potential for rooftop solar and advanced renewable solutions in Bangladesh is vast and largely untapped. We already have a population that wants to transition towards reliable, clean energy and it is now on the government to discover opportunities for partnerships that prioritize technology transfer, local capacity building, and employment generation when it comes to renewables. As such, the government, the private sector, and potential global investors must all come together to help create an ecosystem that fosters such collaborations at scale.

Climate challenges will only grow more severe, as will the economic challenges facing a nation such as ours. Powering Bangladesh for the future means we must, slowly but surely, create the necessary space for renewables.

Source: Dhaka Tribune.