The body responsible for the installation of more than 4 million residential PV installations has asked its government masters to provide interest-free financing for its program and Dhaka is considering the proposal.

Plans are back on track for what the authority intends to be the first of many solar installations, after potential bidders complained in January that the proposed contract was not viable.

With concerns over the mountains of PV system waste that will one day pile up around the world, Bangladesh is no exception – the nation currently has no solar panel recycling policy.

A 7.4 MW solar plant will start generating electricity next month in Rangamati, in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Division.

The infrastructure company will provide $100 million to develop the plant in the country’s Feni district, which is a draw for solar developers because of designated economic zones being planned there.

Multilateral lender hopes to leverage $212 million more from the private sector as falling solar development costs make renewables more attractive. A solar plant with a 50 MW capacity in Feni will be one of the first to benefit from the new funds.

Details are few at this stage, with a site for the big project still to be selected, although the Bangladeshi government has confirmed the tariff for electricity produced by the plant will be $0.095/kWh.

The joint venture with agro business Anand Group would see the project installed at the northern fringe of the nation’s grid network and would represent a sizable leap forward in a country where the largest PV scheme has a 20 MW capacity.

With electric three-wheelers operating in the nation’s rural areas, it is hoped registering them will help encourage wider adoption.

With the nation’s net metering regime up and running for industrial generators, the government is trying to drum up interest and wants another 600 customers signed up by June, with the help of a soft loans program.