Solar PV Energy Achievements and Prospects in Development of Rural Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a developing country with full courage to be developed by 2021 and celebrate its Golden Jubilee of liberation as a Digital Bangladesh. But the main factor of development, electricity has not met with the daily demand yet. Nearly 72% of the population lives in rural areas and still many areas have not covered by national grid. Alternative source of electricity must be developed to meet the vision 2021. This paper focuses on how much the country achieved to establish Solar Photovoltaic Energy as alternative clean energy which can help reduce poverty, energy shortage and environmental degradation at remote settlements of Bangladesh. The future plans to mitigate the rising demand of electricity especially in remote areas considering the environment has also presented here. The basic applied forms of solar PV in rural Bangladesh are solar home system (SHS) and micro utility (electrification of rural markets, small and cottage industries). Feedback from the users of these systems indicates that solar energy based electricity has been providing very satisfactory service.