Renewable Reckoning

Despite impressive strides in boosting power generation, Bangladesh has fallen behind in its transition to clean energy. Fossil fuels still dominate, making up 98% of electricity output, while renewables barely register. The new Renewable Energy Policy 2025 sets ambitious goals, 20% by 2030 and 30% by 2040, but familiar problems persist: weak institutions, patchy policies, shaken investor confidence, and sluggish follow-through. The sudden cancellation of 37 solar projects hasn't helped. Experts say this is a make-or-break moment—act now, empower SREDA, fix what's broken, or miss the clean energy train again.

- Mollah Amzad Hossain

Over the past three decades, Bangladesh's power and energy sector has undergone a remarkable transformation, backed by massive investments and driven by a national ambition to modernize. The installed electricity generation capacity surged from just 3,301 megawatts in 1996 to an impressive 27,424 megawatts by June 2025. Yet, amid this progress, renewable energy, a vital pillar of sustainable growth, has not received the focused attention it deserves. Despite years of policy discussions and lofty ambitions, the failure to follow through with practical implementation has caused the share of renewables in total electricity generation to slip. Back in 1996, the country's lone hydropower plant contributed 230 megawatts, about 7% of installed capacity. That share has now declined to 5.6%, despite the passage of time and technological advancement.

When it comes to actual energy generation, fossil fuels continue to dominate. Last year, they accounted for a staggering 98% of all electricity produced, while renewables contributed a mere 2%. The Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) reports that Bangladesh's current renewable electricity generation capacity stands at 1,572 megawatts, including the same 230 megawatts from hydropower that has remained unchanged since 1996. Solar accounts for the lion's share at 81.3%, followed by hydropower at 14.6% and wind at 4%. Of this total, 380.24 megawatts comes from non-grid sources, mostly small-scale solar, and 1,196.86 megawatts from grid-connected projects. While this brings the installed renewable capacity to around 8%, the real story on the ground tells a more sobering tale. The once-celebrated spread of 6.0 million solar home systems has faded, with the majority now nonfunctional. As a result, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates the true operational share to be only 5.6%.