World Bank installs 1.2 mn solar systems in Bangladesh

California Telegraph (IANS) Wednesday 22nd February, 2012

The World Bank has helped install more than 1.2 million solar home systems for electricity in rural Bangladesh, the Washington-based lender said Wednesday.

The state-owned Infrastructure Development Company Ltd. (IDCOL) is implementing the project through a network of 29 NGOs, it said.

Bangladesh has developed an economically viable solution for providing electricity in villages where it is difficult or expensive to extend the national grid, the bank said.

Considering the continuing funding needs of this successful programme, the World Bank has recently made available an additional $172 million with a target to install another 630,000 systems by December 2012 and is preparing for additional funding in 2013 and beyond, Xinhua reported.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Saturday announced that the government will support installation of one million solar home systems this year, mostly in the country's rural areas where grid electricity is not economically feasible or hard to reach.