Abstract:
The power supply situation in Bangladesh is very precarious. Out of about 25
million households of Bangladesh, only around 4.2 million had been brought
under the conventional network of electricity till to-date. Since (he rural
network is characterizcd by a comparatively lower consumer density, it often
becomes difficult and uneconomic to reach electricity to all villages, islands,
coastal areas, hilly regions and other inaccessible parts of our country within
the command area of a Rural Electrification Board. The only way to overcome
this difficulty is the decentralized mode of power distribution which can be
conveniently provided by Photovoltaic (PV) systems.
Bangladesh is situated between 20.30 - 26.38 degrees north latitude and 88.04-
92.44 degrees east latitude which is a good location for solar energy utilization.
Daily average solar radiation varies betwecn 4 to 6.5 kWh per square meter.
Maximum amount of radiation is available on the month of March-April and
minimum on December-January. The total installed capacity of solar
photovoltaic applications has reached 800 KWp (estimated) and about 15,000
solar home systems (SHS) are operating in different parts of the country.
(Mazumder, 1995).
With a view of ex:perimenting this new solar technology under the climatosocio-
economic conditions of Bangladesh, Rural Electrification Board (REB),
Local Government Enginecring Department (LGED) and some Non
Govermnent Organi:mtion (NGO)s have installed solar house hold system in
several rural areas oftbe country.
The Solar Photovoltaic Pilot Project and its successful operation create the
initial confidence of the operators as well as the rural consumers to the extent
that this is a technology that functions and enhances the quality of life in terms
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of povcrty reduction, income generating activities, literacy ratc, access to
information and entertainmcnt, environmental protection, etc. at remote and
far-flung areas where the conventional elcctricity grids would never be technoeconomically
viable for various reasons.
To dctel1lline the actual impact of solar energy on rural1ivelihood in this study
a comparison has been made between thc solar electrified and non-electrified
rural areas in both "lbakurgaon and Dinajpur Districts based on some rural
development indicators and finally some rccommendations are suggested in
order to overcome the problem of solar technology so that in future solar
technology can play a great role to allcviate the energy crisis in rural
Bangladesh.
