Recently, 1,372 irrigation water pumps in Bangladesh were retrofitted to run on solar power, with a total installed capacity of 30MW. Government officials have indicated that the net metering policy related to such systems will be finalized soon. During the irrigation season from January to April in Bangladesh, solar water pumps utilize the electricity they generate for their primary purposes. However, in the following year, especially during the hot months from May to October, net metering allows solar water pump owners to sell excess electricity back to the grid, generating income.
Government officials have highlighted that the country’s 1.34 million diesel pumps consume $1 billion worth of fuel annually, while 240,000 grid-connected systems add a daily load of 1.5GW to the grid during the irrigation season.
Officials from the Department of Electricity have revealed that, as of the end of June, low-interest loans provided by the state-owned Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) have funded 1,473 solar irrigation pumps. IDCOL’s goal is to install 50,000 solar pumps by 2025 through its solar pump program, with support from the World Bank’s Global Partnership Program, the German development agency KfW, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the US Agency for International Development, the Asian Development Bank, and the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund.
A senior official from the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) of Bangladesh expressed the hope of replacing diesel-powered systems with 150MW of solar pumps in collaboration with YAMI, with a focus on solar water pumps and helical rotor pumps, strategically distributed.
