Globally, there has been a shift towards increasing renewable electricity capacity. Of this renewable electricity capacity, solar photovoltaic (PV) is becoming a major driver of the transition.
According to the International Energy Agency’s Renewables report in October 2025, global renewable power capacity is projected to increase by almost 4,600 gigawatts between 2025 and 2030. This figure is double the deployment compared with the previous five years (2019–2024).
Solar PV alone is projected to account for around 80 per cent of this worldwide expansion, with distributed solar PV applications covering residential, commercial, industrial and off-grid projects representing 42 per cent of the overall PV expansion.
In line with this global shift, Bangladesh has been taking concerted initiatives to increase renewable electricity generation to address the power crisis and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuel-based oil and gas. To this end, the government has already undertaken several policy and fiscal measures, including the Revised Net Metering Guideline 2025, fiscal incentives introduced in the National Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026–27 and the Draft National Renewable Energy Development Strategy (2026–2030), issued in June 2026.
The net metering guideline is a key policy mechanism supporting distributed solar generation. Initially introduced on 18 August 2018 and subsequently revised in 2025, the framework allows eligible grid-connected consumers to install rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at their premises and generate electricity for their own consumption.
After meeting their required consumption, consumers can export surplus electricity to the national grid through a bi-directional smart meter.
With a target of installing 5,500 megawatts (MW) of rooftop solar capacity by 2030, the Draft National Renewable Energy Development Strategy has placed special attention on rooftop solar.
When it comes to photovoltaic solar power potential, the World Bank Global Solar Atlas shows that Bangladesh has considerable solar potential. The country has relatively lower potential in the northern region and relatively higher potential in the south-eastern region, including Chattogram and the Chattogram Hill Tracts.
In Bangladesh, apparel factories are mostly concentrated in four zones — Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chattogram. The Atlas’s solar resource map shows that Dhaka, Gazipur and Narayanganj have photovoltaic power potential of about 3.8–4.0 kWh/kWp per day, while the Chattogram zone has relatively higher potential of around 4.0–4.2 kWh/kWp per day.
This indicates that major apparel factory clusters have adequate solar potential to support rooftop PV installation.
Photovoltaic solar power potential in Bangladesh, Source: World Bank Global Atlas
Though rooftop solar can help meet electricity requirements, it cannot replace gas-based thermal energy sources such as LNG, LPG and furnace oil. Rather, it can support relatively light operations such as lighting, sewing, cutting, embroidery, printing, packing and other electrically operated equipment, but cannot support energy-intensive thermal processes such as boilers, dyeing, washing, drying and stenter machines.
Wider-scale rooftop solar adoption in Bangladesh’s apparel sector could therefore help diversify the energy mix, strengthen energy security, reduce electricity-related production costs and support decarbonisation efforts.
Several apparel factories in Bangladesh are adopting rooftop PV solar, but there is still a long way to go before large-scale adoption across the sector. In terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, one notable example is Fakir Fashion Ltd, a member factory of BKMEA.
The factory’s solar PV contribution to total electricity consumption increased from around 1.1 per cent in 2022–23 to 6 per cent in FY2024–25. The factory also reported an estimated reduction of 2,220 tCO₂e through its solar PV initiatives, according to Fakir Fashion Ltd’s Sustainability Report 2025, Greener by Design.
This shows that rooftop solar has the potential to reduce emissions in apparel manufacturing.
In Bangladesh, renewable energy contributes 1,827.04 MW, or only 5.63 per cent, of the total installed electricity generation mix. This shows that the country’s installed electricity generation capacity remains highly dominated by fossil fuel-based sources.
Solar dominates installed renewable energy capacity, with 1,533.87MW, of which 377.47MW is off-grid capacity and 1,156.4MW is on-grid capacity. Overall, solar contributes 84 per cent of Bangladesh’s total installed renewable energy capacity.
In terms of technology-wise distribution of installed solar capacity, solar parks account for the largest share at 48.60 per cent. Net-metering rooftop solar follows with 22.2 per cent, while rooftop solar systems outside the net-metering framework add another 6.1 per cent.
Therefore, overall rooftop solar accounts for 28.3 per cent of the country’s total installed solar capacity (based on data from the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority database, updated on 31 August 2026).
Bangladesh’s National Budget FY2026–27 introduces several fiscal incentives to accelerate renewable energy generation, especially solar energy. The budget provides a zero per cent income tax rate for the solar power sector until 2035, while consumers can receive a 5 per cent tax rebate on solar electricity bill payments.
At the same time, import-related duties and taxes have been reduced to zero for a range of essential solar generation and energy storage equipment, including solar PV modules, inverters, mounting structures, batteries, battery energy storage systems and related control and monitoring equipment.
Bangladesh Bank’s green financing framework also provides an important financing avenue for rooftop solar investment. The Sustainable Finance Department Circular No 02, dated 30 August 2023, lists net metering rooftop solar systems as an eligible renewable energy product for refinancing, including projects in industrial facilities.
Bangladesh Bank’s Green Transformation Fund has allocated a total of Tk5,000 crore revolving fund for green investments, including renewable energy investments, according to Sustainable Finance Department Circular No 07, dated 7 December 2022.
To conclude, existing policies and strategies could play a significant role in accelerating rooftop solar adoption in Bangladesh’s export-oriented apparel sector, which accounted for around 80.62 per cent of total exports, with exports reaching $38.70 billion in FY2025–26.
To implement these policies effectively, what is required are simplified approval procedures, flexibility in collateral requirements, reliable grid integration and inclusive and low-cost financing for small and medium-sized factories.
Building awareness among apparel manufacturers about rooftop solar adoption is also crucial.
The writer is Research Associate at the Research and Development Cell of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association. He can be reached at [email protected].
Views expressed are solely those of the author.
