The government plan to set up solar power plants with the capacity of generating 900 MW of electricity is under process.
To meet the demand for accelerating development there is no other way but to increase power generation by fuel diversification. Development of renewable energy is one of the important strategies adopted as part of Fuel Diversification Programme.
"A renewable energy policy has been framed for the development of green energy and a target has been set to generate five per cent electricity (800 MW) by 2015 and 10 per cent electricity (2,000 MW) by 2020 from renewable energy resources," said an official of the Power Division.
The State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid said under the Wind Resource Management wind power plants will be build at 13 coastal spots. "The process will generate about 700 MW of electricity in public and private sectors," he said on Friday.
Besides, he said a programme for conducting a feasibility study on setting up hydroelectric power plants in the country's southeastern region is also underway.
The government has set up the goal of providing electricity to all by 2020 and to ensure reliable and quality supply of electricity at a reasonable and affordable price. Sustainable social and economic development depends on adequate power generation capacity of a country.
According to the Renewable Energy Policy 2009, the government is committed to facilitate both public and private sector investments in projects to substitute indigenous non-renewable energy supplies and scale up contributions of existing renewable energy-based electricity production.
The Renewable Energy Policy envisions that five per cent of the total energy production will have to be achieved by 2015 and 10 per cent by 2020. To achieve this target, the government is looking at various options including renewable energy resources. Under the existing generation scenario, renewable energy has a very small share of the total electricity generation. It stands at a little over 1 per cent of the total output till now.
The present government is placing priority on developing renewable energy resources to improve energy security and to establish a sustainable energy regime alongside conventional energy sources. The government has already launched "500 MW Solar Power Mission" to promote the use of renewable energy to meet the increasing demand of electricity.
Nasrul Hamid further informed that initiatives have also been undertaken to import hydroelectricity from the neighbouring countries to meet the growing demand of power.