Bangladesh Requires Rooftop PV Systems For Large New Buildings

Bangladesh has implemented a new regulation requiring new buildings with a roof area of more than 92.2 square meters to install a net metering solar system as a prerequisite for grid connection.

The Government of Bangladesh requires new residential, educational, healthcare, industrial and commercial buildings to be equipped with net metering solar systems as a prerequisite for grid integration. As a result, the country's rooftop photovoltaic (PV) generation will increase significantly.

Under the new rules, buildings with a roof area of more than 92.2 square meters must install a net metering solar system. Owners wishing to achieve single-phase grid integration must install net-metered solar systems with a minimum capacity of 1 kW, while those requiring three-phase grid integration must meet the 3 kW capacity requirement. These rules also apply to schools, hospitals, and charitable organizations with at least 1,000 square feet of roof area.

The new rules also require commercial and industrial customers with a grid-connected capacity of less than 80 kilowatts to install a rooftop PV system equal to 15 percent of their total load. Customers with grid-connected capacity between 80 and 500 kilowatts must install a PV system equal to 12 percent of their load capacity, while customers with load capacity greater than 500 kilowatts must install a rooftop array equal to 10 percent of their load capacity.

Existing buildings wishing to increase their grid-connected load capacity will also have to comply with the same requirement by installing additional rooftop solar systems. Dipal C. Barua, former chairman and current advisor of the Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association, told PV Magazine that there is strong support for this new measure.

Rooftop solar systems will now contribute hundreds of megawatts of electricity per year," he said. The mandatory installation of net-metering PV systems is easier to implement for new buildings because they have to comply in order to be connected to the grid."

Barua said that about 40,000 new residential buildings will be constructed in Bangladesh every year, and if each building installs an average of one 2-kilowatt system, it could provide about 80 MW of electricity. He also noted that commercial and industrial buildings with higher electricity loads will install larger rooftop solar systems, which will further increase power generation.

Bangladesh's clean energy generation totaled 1,194.63 MW, of which 84.837 MW came from net-metered rooftop solar systems and 70.301 MW from non-net-metered rooftop PV systems.