Asianet Pakistan Private Limited

BRAC EPL Investments Ltd (BEIL) has entered into a strategic partnership with Paramount Solar Limited (PSL) recently, with BEIL serving as the corporate adviser to support the solar company’s expansion in Bangladesh’s renewable energy sector.

The collaboration is expected to help PSL raise funds to scale its operations, invest in advanced solar technologies, and expand access to clean energy solutions across the country, according to a press release. “We are delighted to work with Paramount Solar Limited as they explore fund-raising options to further expand and grow their business operations,” said Syed Rashed Hussain, chief executive officer of BEIL.

Mohammad Jahidul Abedin, director and chief financial officer of PSL, described the move as a milestone for the company. PSL, one of the fast-growing renewable energy companies in Bangladesh, is focused on delivering clean, affordable, and efficient solar power solutions.

The company aims to empower communities and industries by expanding access to reliable solar energy, supporting the nation’s shift toward a low-carbon future.

Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh’s solar energy sector claim the banks’ complex and conditional financing system is a major obstacle to the expansion ofrooftop solar system installation.

However, banks are calling the financing risk very high due to delays in returning investments, despite instructions from the central bank.

A discussion titled ‘Unveiling Solar Rooftop Finance: Towards a Sustainable Energy Future’ at a hotel in Dhaka recently highlighted challenges and prospects of this sector.

Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Nurun Nahar said the government will soon unveil a set of incentive programs to expand solar power.

Thediscussionwasjointlyorganizedby the Bangladesh Sustainable and Renewable EnergyAssociation(BSREA) andActionAid Bangladesh. Naharsaid, ‘BangladeshBankhasbeen involved in solar plants since 2008.

Rooftop solar is now essential for our country.

A policy of 20 percent solar powerisbeing introducedinEPZs, EZs, and other economic zones. ‘New instructions are being issued for commercial banks and financial institutions.

The BPDB will take the initiative to launch cluster-based franchises in all divisional cities, including Dhaka and Chattogram. ‘An escrow system will be introduced to ensure payment security.’Efforts are under way to launch solar power projects in the public-private partnership (PPP) model using unused railway land,she added.

Alamgir Morshed, chief of Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), said the company will take the lead in financing rooftop solar projects, though banks’ participation could encourage mixed investments.

Bangladesh’s renewable energy goals are at risk due to the country’s continued expansion of fossil fuel use, according to a new study by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). ‘Without a clear fossil fuel phase-outplan,the countrymay struggle to achieve its clean energy targets, despite setting a 30% renewable energy goal by 2040 under the newly drafted Renewable Energy Policy,’ the report warned. Launched in Dhaka recently, the report titled ‘Revisiting Targets Set for Renewable Energybased Power Generation by 2040: Projection of ‘SMART’ Target and Required Investment,’ highlighted that fossil fuel capacity is projected to exceed actual electricity demand by over 4,000 MW in 2030, creating inefficiencies and reducing space for renewable integration.

By 2040, Bangladesh will need 35,713 MW of renewable power capacity to meet its 30% target, yet current trajectories fall short.

However, CPD warned that fragmented policies and the absence of a fossil fuel exit strategy create uncertainty for both public and private investors.

The Bangladesh Sustainable and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA) and the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently at CIRDAP headquarters in Dhaka.

This agreement marks the first-ever partnership between a regional intergovernmental organization and a national renewable energy association to jointly promote rural development through clean energy across Asia and the Pacific.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mostafa Al Mahmud, President of BSREA, stated, ‘This partnership is both timely and significant.

Together with CIRDAP, we aim to empower farmers, cooperatives, and rural entrepreneurs by replacing diesel irrigation pumps, promoting solar households and villages, and introducing wind turbines in coastal areas.

This MoU will accelerate our shared commitment to sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience.’

Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan said the required financing and technological assistance for adaptation are still far from adequate. ‘As a deltaic and lower riparian country, Bangladesh is among the most climatevulnerable nations.

Our people are showing resilience and courage in the face of repeated disasters, but our capacity is being stretched due to insufficient mitigation efforts and inadequate international support,’ she said.

The Adviser made the remarks while speaking at an event titled ‘ B i o p h i l i a : R e c o n n e c t i n g People, Climate, and Culture’ hosted by the Embassy of Switzerland recently as part of its commitment to action against the climate crisis.

Biophilia showcased how community-led initiatives are best placed to address the impact of climate change on left behind communities, said the Embassy.

The day-long festival was also an opportunity to promote the Swiss-supported Climate Action at Local Level (CALL) program. Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzlul Kabir Khan attended as the chief reciter of the climate oath.

Afire broke out recently at a Russian nuclear power plant after the country’s military downed a Ukrainian drone, the facility said after the blaze was put out.

The “device detonated” upon impact at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in western Russia, sparking a blaze which the facility said “was extinguished by fire crews”.

There were no casualties from the drone smashing down at the site, where capacity was reduced. “The radiation background at the industrial site of the Kursk NPP and the surrounding area has not changed and corresponds to natural levels,” the plant wrote on Telegram.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned of the dangers of fighting around nuclear plants following Russia’s military offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.

In a significant development, Pakistan has been advised to delay any commitment to gas intake from Turkmenistan under the TurkmenistanAfghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project until at least 2031, The News reported on Friday.

The recommendation, by international energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie, comes as Pakistan is already facing a surplus of imported LNG, due to a dramatic decline in domestic gas consumption, a senior official from the Ministry of Energy told the scribe.

The advisory has sparked urgent deliberations within the Petroleum Division, where senior officials are now seriously considering either notifying Turkmenistan of a potential deferment or even withdrawing from the $13 billion TAPI gas pipeline.

The warning comes amid growing challenges in managing Pakistan’s existing LNG contracts and infrastructure.

Omera Petroleum Ltd, a subsidiary of MJL Bangladesh PLC, is going to acquire Premier LP Gas Ltd (PLPG), a leading operator in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market under the brand name “Totalgaz Bangladesh”, for Tk 227 crore.

Omera will buy 99.995 percent of the shares of PLPG, and both have signed an agreement in this regard.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals, according to a disclosure posted on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) website recently.

MJL Bangladesh said the move is expected to strengthen Omera’s LPG operations by leveraging PLPG’s existing infrastructure and its 1.6 million LPG cylinders. “This is anticipated to boost revenue and improve profitability in the LPG business segment,” it said.

Like the Covid recovery fund, the Bangladesh Bank should form a renewable energy fund of at least Tk10,000 crore with support from the national budget to reduce lenders’ risks, speakers said at a roundtable on 23 August.

They stressed that the central bank alone cannot shoulder the burden of promoting sustainable financing in the country.

The government must step in with fiscal support, such as funds and incentives, and ensure the availability of credible data to scale up green energy and sustainability-linked projects.

The roundtable, organized jointly by Oxfam and The Business Standard under the former’s fair financing initiative, underscored the urgent need for largescale financing to meet Bangladesh’s renewable energy ambitions.

Hasan Mehedi, member secretary of the Bangladesh Working Group on External Debt, pointed out that the government has recently decided to generate 3,000MW of solar power through a Rooftop Solar Program within this fiscal year.

The plan requires $2.4 billion (Tk29,280 crore) in financing in just 10 months.

Also, the revised Renewable Energy Policy 2025 targets to achieve a 20% renewable energy share by 2030 and 30% by 2040, which would need $7.2 billion (Tk87,230 crore) investment in the next five years.

F ebruary is the deadline set by the interim government of Professor Muhammad Yunus for holding parliamentary elections and handing over power to the elected people’s representatives. Yunus has promised to make next year’s vote free, fair, and festive.

Since the election roadmap was announced, the Nobel laureate has emphasized the importance of fulfilling his commitment to holding one of the country’s freest and fairest votes, to be remembered forever.

His press wing has reiterated that no power in Bangladesh can break the interim government’s vow to hold the balloting as per the schedule.

Instructions have already been given to the Election Commission to prepare for holding the vote, which, if held, will be the second such exercise in less than two years.

As we all know, the vote has to be held as the president dissolved the 13th parliament shortly after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League-led government in the wake of the mass protests in August last year. Despite the government’s resolve, many in Bangladesh still have doubts about the elections being held on time or at all.

The political parties – minus the Awami League, whose activities have been suspended until the trial of its key leaders for crimes against humanity – have welcomed the announcement of the election roadmap, but the air of uncertainty is yet to clear.

The major players – BNP, Jamaat, and NCP – agree on the election schedule, but they have serious disagreements on how the July Charter would be implemented. Disagreements persist on the question of the professional representation (PR) system, which requires fundamental changes in the constitution.

BNP objects to PR either in a direct vote to elect the legislature or in electing the proposed Upper House. Converting the parliament into two Houses – Lower and Upper- is still on paper, and it’s far from being a reality. Yet debate on how the Upper House will be elected rages on, with the Consensus Commission finding it hard to bring the participating political parties to a consensus across the table. Jamaat, NCP, and several other parties insist that the legislature be elected through the proportional votes the contesting parties win in the election.

For example, if BNP gets 30 percent of the votes, it will get the same percentage of seats in the parliament.

The seats will thus be shared by the contesting parties in accordance with the number of votes they each poll.

The voters will cast ballots in favor of the party, not for any particular candidate.

The parties will distribute the seats among their chosen candidates on the basis of vote percentage.

This system, rare in any democracy, is complicated and entirely unknown to most of our voters.

However, it suits the smaller parties as it provides a step for them to get into the House, which, under the current system, remains an unreachable goal.

So when they press for the introduction of a PR system, there seems to be a ‘method in the madness’ syndrome. Last year’s political unity against Sheikh Hasina seems to be still strong, but questions about its solidity remain.

This has led to political uncertainty, deepened further by a deteriorating law and order characterized by mob violence.

Analysts join the political parties in the chorus for holding the general elections by February or risk plunging the nation into more chaos and into the darkness, not only politically but also socially and, most importantly, economically.

Under Yunus’s administration, the financial aspects of the economy are showing signs of a turnaround, but the growth has slowed down to 3.6 percent, with inflation showing no sign of a significant fall.

It has eased a bit, but more needs to be done to bring it under sustainable control.

The warning is that the country’s democratic aspirations will get a jolt if Yunus fails to hold the February polls. Preventive steps are urgent now before it gets out of hand.