A scheme to install solar lighting and household power, as well as biogas and solar cookers and larger PV plants, has already driven deployment of more than 1.2 million systems. Now the government wants more partners to join the program.

F Cubed, an Australian company that specializes in solar-powered desalination systems, has landed a contract valued at almost $5 million to supply 1,140 units that will provide clean drinking water to around 30,000 people in Bangladesh.

The government will reportedly be ready to tender contracts to install rooftop PV on its buildings across eight divisions of the nation in as little as three months’ time.

Renewables authority official tells pv magazine the nation’s irrigation canals could host almost 1 GW of solar generation capacity.

Industry figures indicate the expansion of the Bangladeshi grid is hitting demand for the solar home systems which have traditionally generated power for homes formerly out of reach of the electricity network.

A pre-bid meeting has been arranged on January 20 for the project, which is being financed with a $74 million World Bank loan.

The Chinese inverter maker’s EPC unit has tied up the deal to build the plant being developed by Spectra Solar Park in the Manikganj district.

A delegation from the Asian Development Bank recently paid a visit to the South Asian country to assess the prospects of floating PV in a nation that suffers from a general lack of land upon which to develop new renewable energy projects.

The government has set a very low bar of achieving just 10% of its electricity supply from renewables as it tenders for consultants to advise it on how to incorporate intermittent generation into the national grid.

Complaints about sub-standard, cheap PV imports from China – and notably, India – have been heeded by Dhaka, which has issued a requirement for modules, inverters, charge controllers and batteries to attain IEC electrical standards.