Impact of utilization of solar energy in some selected rural areas of Thakurgaon and Dinajpur district

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 .- • ..•~ ii 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.