2. Location and energy status Bangladesh is located in South Asia with an estimated population of 154.7 million and a GDP with a growth rate of 6.2 percent as of 2012. Most part of the country is flat with some hilly areas in the south-eastern part. Discovered natural resources of Bangladesh, among others, consist of natural gas, coal (mostly unexploited) and limited hydropower. These are used as primary energy resources for power generation and industrial operations. Natural gas is the largest contributor (82.1%) for generating electricity in the country. As of 2011, among other fossil fuels, imported furnace oil, coal, diesel and hydro power contribute to electricity generation to the tune of 5.6%, 2.4%, 6.9% and 2.8% respectively. Besides, coal fired power plants located at Barapukuria is producing 250 MW electricity at its current installed capacity. A significant gap between energy supplies and demands is evident, in terms of the generation of electricity. As mentioned earlier, Bangladesh is now confronting a serious energy crisis. At present, against its total demand of 8350 MW, supply is below 6000 MW with a substantial system loss. Here, system loss refers to the summation of all energy lost.
3. Renewable energy policy of the country Bangladesh's renewable energy policy is relatively new. The first renewable energy policy was drafted in 2002 addressing the issues pertaining to the current demand and supply gap in power generation. In 2008, the policy was revised by MPEMR of GOB. The policy was put in a gazette notification as an official memorandum.
4. Potentials of renewable energy technologies (RETs) As said earlier, 76 percent of the population do not have access to electricity; added to that, transmission, and distribution of conventional on-grid power generation and supply to them are not a cost-effective solution, especially in remote areas in Bangladesh. Under this circumstance, promoting renewable energy could be a viable solution, not only for rural people but also for urban areas considering an acute crisis of energy that the country has been experiencing in past few decades. However, from the technological view point, several renewable energy resources have been identified throughout the world, but subject to available technology, location, geography and economy, a list of renewable energies that are appropriate in the context of Bangladesh.
5. Government initiatives promoting renewable technologies Acknowledging disparity between supply and demand scenario of primary energy sources in Bangladesh, the conclusion can be drawn that too much dependence on natural gas is obviously fraught with risks for power production and for other commercial activities. And, as such serious efforts should be given to find out economically viable, environment-friendly and socially acceptable alternative energy sources. In this regard, GOB has undertaken a number of initiatives to make renewable energy a worthwhile alternative. GOB formulated its renewable energy policy in 2008 and as part of that policy it has engaged with the development partners and private sector to boost generation. In order to implement these policies, GOB took the following initiatives.
6. Research and development (R&D) in renewable energy technologies Current R&D activities on renewable energy technologies (RETs) in Bangladesh could not yet reach to the end-state. However, both public and private organizations are working to promote appropriate diffusion. A list of organizations under this mission has been summarized.
7. Environmental impact and sustainability Extensive use of fossil fuels leads to unsustainable developments because of huge CO2 emission. Most importantly, fossil fuel, for instance, coal has been used for power generation and other industrial activities in recent times, which has negative environmental impacts [75]. GHG effect is mainly emanating from excessive heating, transportation, and power plants using fossil fuels. As high as 70 percent of the GHG emission stems from the use of fossil fuel in transportation [76]. It is, however, learned that the Bangladesh government intended to install a number of coal-based power plants to make up for the present energy crisis. This may cause serious environmental damage in this densely populated country. As reported recently, it is already causing damage to the agricultural crops in the northwestern part of Bangladesh. From 2010 to 2011, world coal consumption has increased up to 60 percent, which is a cause of concern for environmental conservation [2]. Bangladesh is already in a potential hazardous zone such as sea-level rise and climate change because of this GHG phenomenon. However, Bangladesh is still one of the countries responsible for low GHG gas emissions but it is vulnerable to global warming phenomenon that would affect 17 million people and 22,000 m2 of land at the southern part of the country. Furthermore, this detrimental GHG emission phenomenon would affect the entire biodiversity, agriculture, forestry and other major components of natural inhabitants. Renewable energies such as solar, wind and biomass may resolve this forthcoming catastrophic scenario, mitigate environmental degradation, and act as catalysts to meet the whooping energy demand. As predicted by the relevant researchers, Bangladesh has tremendous potential in harnessing renewable energy. Among the renewable energy sources, biomass has its highest potentials, since the majority of the population resides in rural areas. This may also help in mitigating the potential GHG emission. Solar home systems (SHS) is also becoming popular that may replace the use of conventional kerosene fuel. Conventional kerosene fuel is now still widely used both in rural and urban areas [78]. Overall, the contribution from renewable energy sources could lead to a sustainable energy solution in near future apart from contributing to ensuring a pollution-free environment.
8. Research directions Multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary researches on tapping the right energy resources are the ways forward. Keeping in view the inevitability of harnessing of renewable energy and in line with the policy of GOB, further researches could be dovetailed in the following directions.