National Rooftop Solar Program A Boost To RE Sector Despite Challenges

The government of Bangladesh approved the country's new renewable energy policy in June 2025, setting a target to achieve 30% renewable energy by 2040. To provide a boost to the renewable energy sector, the government designed a national rooftop solar program in early July 2025, aiming to set up 3,000 MW rooftop solar in the selected buildings, i.e., government offices, educational and religious institutions and hospitals, by December 2025 (the government has revised up the target from 2,000 MW to 3,000 MW. The December 2025 timeline is now removed). The government will provide funds for projects in government offices under the capital expenditure (CAPEX) model and expects engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies to invest in hospitals, and educational and religious institutions under the operational expenditure (OPEX) model.

- EP Report

A recent briefing note, "Rooftop Solar's Time to Shine in Bangladesh," authored by Shafiqul Alam, the Lead Energy Analyst for Bangladesh, at the global think tank Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), acknowledged the government's rooftop solar program as a positive step for the country's renewable energy sector. The briefing note compared Bangladesh's position with respect to renewable energy and rooftop solar capacities of selected South Asian countries.

The shares of renewable energy in Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan's power sectors are 63%, 48% and 47% against Bangladesh's share of 5.25%. The South Asian peers also have good amounts of rooftop solar compared to Bangladesh. India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka have rooftop solar capacities of 18,000 MW, 15,000 MW, and 1,347 MW, respectively. In contrast, Bangladesh's rooftop solar capacity stood at 245 MW in June 2025.

Bangladesh installed its first rooftop solar system in 2008. In 2010, the government issued a directive for new buildings and industries to set up rooftop solar to secure grid connections. Moreover, the government approved net metering guidelines in 2018 and revised them in 2019 to allow buildings with three-phase connections to generate electricity from rooftop solar and supply it to the grid. However, the country's rooftop solar sector is held back by challenges, such as a lack of quality assurance and monitoring, high import duties, and financing barriers.

Against these backdrops, the new rooftop solar program sends a strong signal on the country's commitment to shore up renewable energy capacity. However, the success of the rooftop solar program will largely depend on feasibility and readiness.

Assessment of the Rooftop Solar Program