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Govt plans to divert wasteful safety net funds to solar panels

Star Business Report
THE government plans to free up money from some of its wasteful social safety net programmes for installing solar panels in schools and other places to advance renewable energy in the country, said the energy adviser to the prime minister yesterday.
"We can get some of the money earmarked for 'vulnerable group feeding' and 'food for work' programmes as funds sometimes get wasted. We will spend the money to set up solar panels," said Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury.
"The prime minister has talked about the issue. We are trying to standardise the plan."
He spoke at the launch of the Poor People's Energy Outlook Report 2012 at the conference room of Local Government Engineering Department in the capital. Practical Action, a UK-based non-government organisation, released the report.
About 53 percent of households are covered by the power supply through the national grid, leaving about 8.7 crore people in the off-grid areas and making Bangladesh the ideal place for renewable energy solutions.
Chowdhury said the government plans to take clean cooking stoves to all households by 2020.
He urged companies promoting and selling clean cooking stoves to be aware of transformation of society, otherwise by the time they reach their target customers their need may finish.
Robert Juhkam, acting country director of United Nations Development Programme, said without a change in course, the world's one billion people would be without electricity by 2030.
Three billion people will still cook with traditional fuels, and more than 30 million people may die due to smoke-related diseases, said Juhkam, quoting the report.
"These are serious issues; highlight-
ing the access to energy is important for a decent living," he said.
He said, in Bangladesh poor people need access to energy, which is no longer an issue of debate.
Juhkam also said reliance on fossil fuel to produce electricity may not be a smart action for Bangladesh. "There is a need for right mix of energy sources and new technology."
The UNDP official also said money should be spent in a smarter way so that people can have affordable energy for ensuring universal access to energy. "We need to channel that money smartly.”
He urged the government, the private sector and the civil society to work together to invest in taking energy to the people, which can transform their lives and foster the growth of the country.
Later at a panel discussion, Ijaz Hossain, a professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), said the government has never studied the rural energy need.
"The private sector has done some work, but the government did not take them into cognizance," he said.
He said the government should give priority to meeting the heating needs of the poor in the rural areas, instead of focusing on only taking electricity to them.
"The government will have to make biomass as the number one priority as part of its renewable energy strategy," he said.
Nurul Islam, a former professor at Buet, said the country should not focus on reaching targets. Otherwise, the poor would be bypassed, he said.
The report comes as the year 2012 is the UN International Year of Sustainable Energy for All, and the injustice of energy poverty is rising up the international agenda.
The report argues that where poor people have the sustainable energy access needed to grow enterprise activities — small and large, it becomes possible to escape the vicious cycle of poverty. "Universal energy access would create a step change in poverty reduction in the developing world and help billions out of the darkness and drudgery so many are forced to endure on a daily basis," it said.
Tapos Kumar Roy, additional secretary of the power, energy and mineral resources ministry, Veena Khaleque, country director of Practical Action, Bangladesh, and Formanul Islam, director for legal affairs and financial relations of Infrastructure Development Company Ltd, also spoke.
Afroza Ahmed, team leader for infrastructure services