World Bank supporting Bangladesh's solar initiatives

A World Bank report has said that solar power schemes in rural Bangladesh, doubled over the past year. Over 870,000 homes and shops have now been fitted with solar power systems, benefiting from the 2009 grant of USD130 million from the World Bank.

The aim was to reach remote parts of Bangladesh that would otherwise not be connected to the national grid. (Fewer than half the people in Bangladesh have access to electricity.)

Bangladesh already faces 2,000 MW of electricity shortages, so the diversified energy project finding new sources of power will become increasingly critical as population growth, industrialization, and a rise in the use of electrical appliances adds another 500 megawatts of demand annually.