Current energy scenario and future prospect of renewable energy in Bangladesh

Energy is the building block of modern civilization and a prerequisite for sustainable development. Global energy consumption will increase by 36% with an annual growth of 1.6% from year 2011 to 2030, comprising 88% fossil fuel share. Bangladesh is a developing country in the Southeast Asia, which is one of the lowest per capital energy consuming nation. The power crisis has become a major constraint to continued economic growth and energy sector of the country is currently facing serious challenge. Due to depleting nature and mono fuel dependent energy policy; finding alternative energy source has become imperative for the country. This study examined the current energy mix, present energy crisis and its way to overcome such scenario by utilizing alternative energy sources such as biomass, solar, wind and small scale hydropower energy, in the context of Bangladesh. Among the renewable energy sources, biomass is found to be the most effective and utilizable. Potential electricity generation from biomass is 312.608 terawatt hour (TWh), where only 44.52 TWh is utilized. On the other hand, solar home system (SHS) has shown positive impact on socio-economic development in the rural areas by alleviating poverty and creating jobs. To assure national energy security, and aiming to provide constant and quality power supply to all citizens of Bangladesh, Government of People's Republic of Bangladesh (GOB) must strive to double its effort towards attaining greater renewable energy share by conversion, utilization and dissemination. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.