Bangladesh sets 20% renewable target by 2030 under new policy
Bangladesh has adopted the Renewable Energy Policy 2025, setting a 20% renewable energy target by 2030 and a 30% target by 2041. The policy comes as electricity demand is projected to exceed 30,000 MW by 2030, while renewable capacity stands at around 1,600 MW.
The gap is large: the government’s 20% target would mean roughly 5,600–6,145 MW of renewable capacity, according to the figures in the policy. By 2041, the Power System Master Plan says peak electricity demand could reach nearly 60,000 MW, with annual growth projected at 7–10%.
Power Division and SREDA
The Power Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources holds overall responsibility for the policy, while the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority serves as the nodal agency. SREDA is assigned to prepare implementation roadmaps, develop technical guidelines, facilitate investment, coordinate across agencies, and establish a sustainable energy development fund.
Those jobs point to the main complication in the policy: Bangladesh has set targets faster than the system around them is ready to absorb. The policy aims to attract investment, improve institutional frameworks, and promote product standardisation and cost competitiveness, but the implementation mechanisms are not yet detailed on financing, land allocation, or institutional readiness.
From 2008 to 2025
The new policy marks a shift from the Renewable Energy Policy of 2008, which focused mainly on solar home systems, biomass, and small-scale projects. The 2025 version puts utility-scale solar and wind, rooftop solar, distributed generation, hybrid systems, and battery energy storage systems at the center of Bangladesh’s next energy plan.
That change also reflects a broader move away from coal-heavy plans toward a more diversified mix that includes LNG, nuclear, and renewable energy. The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is expected to provide baseload power, while efforts are underway to expand solar deployment on public land.
Investment and Land Limits
The policy also tries to reduce electricity tariffs and government subsidies, increase the share of green energy, and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. It pushes both foreign and private investment and expands the role of the private sector through greater public-private partnerships and a more market-oriented approach.
Bangladesh’s immediate hurdle is practical, not rhetorical: utility-scale solar needs land, and land is limited. High upfront costs and a financial sector that still lacks the technical understanding and financing instruments for renewable projects could slow delivery unless the new framework moves beyond targets and into bankable projects.
For readers, the next step is not another slogan but execution — land, finance, and agency coordination will decide whether Bangladesh reaches 20% by 2030 or remains stuck near its current 1,600 MW base. The policy now gives SREDA and the Power Division the mandate to turn that target into procurement, grid planning, and investment decisions.
