Bangladesh mandates solar charging for millions of electric rickshaws

Bangladesh has made solar power mandatory for the charging of millions of illegally operated battery-powered three-wheelers, which are currently charged from the electricity grid.

“To get registered, these auto-rickshaws will have to charge their batteries with solar power,” State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam said this week.

He said the rickshaws must be registered with city corporations and municipalities across the country and recharged exclusively with solar power, with violations subject to fines.

According to Alam, the vehicles will be governed under an existing law, while regulations to implement the legislation are currently being prepared.

An estimated 6 million auto-rickshaws are currently operating across Bangladesh. Their batteries are often charged illegally from grid connections at night.

According to estimates, the three-wheelers consume between 800 MW and 1 GW of electricity, equivalent to around 5% of the country’s total power generation. The government has said this contributes to pressure on the grid and frequent power cuts.

The vehicles have become an important means of transport for lower- and lower-middle-income groups that cannot afford private cars for short-distance journeys, both in cities and rural areas.

Millions of young people earn their livelihoods by operating the three-wheelers. They provide a source of income for at least 20 million people, according to local estimates.

Ezaz Al Qudrat A Mazid, managing director of Solar EPC Development Ltd., welcomed the government’s plan to transition the three-wheelers from grid electricity to solar power.

“Today I received a call from an investor who wants to set up 30 solar-powered charging stations. The conversion will enhance green power generation, boost investment, and create employment,” he told pv magazine.

Mostafa Al Mahmud, president of the Bangladesh Sustainable and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA), said the policy could create an investment ecosystem across the country, generate employment and reduce pressure on fuel resources.

“The impact would be huge,” he told pv magazine. “If you have, for example, 5,000 solar charging stations, that means 5,000 investors get involved right away – gradually, it builds up,” Mahmud said.

He also called for the inclusion of net metering in the policy.

“Solar power without net metering is a non-starter. The government shouldn’t make that mistake,” he said.