Bureaucratic ineptness cannot fail us to adopt renewable energy

Amid the persistent power cuts and the struggle for renewable energy for environmental sustainability, an investment proposal to produce 1,000 megawatts of solar power has got stuck due to bureaucratic ineptness. A national daily yesterday reported that Eleris Energy Global LLC owned by US-based Pacific Energy came up with the $1.79 billion project in February 2022. Sadly, the company has yet to get any Letter of Interest (LoI) from the Bangladesh Power Division. Eleris, however, only managed to get a lease of 5,000 acres of marshland in Swarnadwip in the Noakhali district through a joint-venture agreement. Though the company held a series of meetings with Power Division high-ups to get the project approved, it did not see any progress.
The proposal states that the 1,000 MW solar project in Swarnadip will provide inexpensive power with an economic impact of more than $ 2.42 billion. It will also facilitate over 1,000 construction jobs as well as more than 100 high-paying operational jobs. If the proposal had been approved on time, the project could have added 200 MW of power by the time the power crisis hit the country.
Bangladesh currently produces a total of 948 MW renewable energy of which 714 MW comes from solar with 588 MW linked to the national grid. The country aims at producing 40 percent of clean power by 2040 as part of its commitment to reduce the impact of climate change, according to a plan submitted in COP-26. It has promised to produce 911 MW renewable power unconditionally with its own resources and another 4114 MW conditional subject to the availability of funds and technical support.
It is here to mention that some other proposals for producing 4,000 MW of solar energy have also been waiting for a long time to get a nod. Experts claim, if such foreign investment in renewable energy is delayed unnecessarily, it will send an adverse note in the global market. Besides, renewable energy in Bangladesh faces a setback with a 37 per cent VAT and tax on equipment. Moreover, the lack of political decision to shift from fossil fuel to renewable has also led the renewable energy not to be available soon in the country. But our pledges at Cop-26 cannot fail only for delay in decision-making.