Renewable Energy Development Authority Soon In Bangladesh Renewable Energy Development Authority Soon In Bangladesh A bill on formation of a new authority for the promotion of renewable energy across the country may be placed in the current session of parliament, Power Ministry sources said, reports UNB. According to the sources, the Cabinet in its meeting on December 19 last approved in principle a draft law titled ‘Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) Act 2011’. As per the government plan, the proposed SREDA will be a core central organisation to promote, develop and monitor the renewable energy activities in the country. At present, different organizations, including Power Development Board (PDB), Rural Electrification Board (REB), Local Government Engineering Department and other government agencies, private sector and NGOs are working on promotion of renewable energy in Bangladesh. But, there is no central authority to monitor or coordinate their activities. The use of renewable energy is growing fast worldwide. But in Bangladesh, its progress is very slow. So far, Bangladesh has been to generate 70 MW renewable energy while India 20,000 MW. The government planned to add 500 MW of renewable energy to the country’s power generation within the next two years. But non-existence of a core authority, the activities in this sector is not getting momentum. “We hope, SREDA will play a role to successfully coordinate and monitor the renewable energy activities,” said a senior official at the Power Division of Power and Energy Ministry. After Cabinet’s initial approval, the Power Division last month sent the draft law to the Law Ministry for its final vetting.”Now the draft is at the law ministry and officials there are working on it. We’re in close contact with the Law Ministry for any clarification,” said Tapos Kumar Roy, Additional Secretary to the Power Division. He said the Power Division is hopeful of getting back the draft with the ministry’s vetting within the next 10 days. After receiving the law ministry’s clearance, the Power Division will again place it before the Cabinet for the final approval, officials said. “As soon as we receive the Cabinet’s final nod, we’ll move to parliament to place it as a bill in the current session,” said A bill on formation of a new authority for the promotion of renewable energy across the country may be placed in the current session of parliament, Power Ministry sources said, reports UNB. According to the sources, the Cabinet in its meeting on December 19 last approved in principle a draft law titled ‘Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) Act 2011’. As per the government plan, the proposed SREDA will be a core central organisation to promote, develop and monitor the renewable energy activities in the country. At present, different organizations, including Power Development Board (PDB), Rural Electrification Board (REB), Local Government Engineering Department and other government agencies, private sector and NGOs are working on promotion of renewable energy in Bangladesh. But, there is no central authority to monitor or coordinate their activities. The use of renewable energy is growing fast worldwide. But in Bangladesh, its progress is very slow. So far, Bangladesh has been to generate 70 MW renewable energy while India 20,000 MW. The government planned to add 500 MW of renewable energy to the country’s power generation within the next two years. But non-existence of a core authority, the activities in this sector is not getting momentum. “We hope, SREDA will play a role to successfully coordinate and monitor the renewable energy activities,” said a senior official at the Power Division of Power and Energy Ministry. After Cabinet’s initial approval, the Power Division last month sent the draft law to the Law Ministry for its final vetting.”Now the draft is at the law ministry and officials there are working on it. We’re in close contact with the Law Ministry for any clarification,” said Tapos Kumar Roy, Additional Secretary to the Power Division. He said the Power Division is hopeful of getting back the draft with the ministry’s vetting within the next 10 days. After receiving the law ministry’s clearance, the Power Division will again place it before the Cabinet for the final approval, officials said. “As soon as we receive the Cabinet’s final nod, we’ll move to parliament to place it as a bill in the current session” .
Source: energybangla
