Does Bangladesh have a solar home system?

Download the book, Living in the Light- The Bangladesh Solar Home System Story. Bangladesh has the largest off-grid solar power program in the world, which offers experiences and lessons for other countries to expand access to clean and affordable electricity.

How did solar power impact Bangladesh?

By harnessing solar power, the program enabled 20 million Bangladeshis to access electricity. The book, "Living in the Light- The Bangladesh Solar Home System Story", launched today, documents how off-grid solar electrification was mainstreamed to a large segment of the population living in rural areas.

Why did Bangladesh start a solar home system?

Rather than waiting for communities to connect to the national grid, the Bangladesh government began the Solar Home System (SHS) program, under the leadership of Infrastructure Development Company Ltd. (IDCOL), to mobilize the private and non-governmental sectors to find ways to rapidly bring clean electricity services to the people.

How did Bangladesh contribute to universal electricity access by 2021?

It laid the foundation for a whole new solar industry. The Bangladesh growth story has several elements, but central to it was contributing to universal electricity access by 2021. In early 2003, electricity access reached only 27 percent of the rural population in Bangladesh, and universal electricity access was estimated to take much longer.

How many people have been able to get electricity in Bangladesh?

By 2018, the SHS program had sold over 4.1 million units, bringing electricity services to about 20 million people. In 2013, sales peaked at 816,000 when 16 percent of the rural population was obtaining electricity through SHS. Today, Bangladesh has achieved near-universal access to electricity.

How can Bangladesh's SHS program improve electricity access to other developing countries?

The Bangladesh SHS Program experiences offer useful lessons to scale up electricity access to other developing countries, including Sub-Saharan Africa with around 600 million people without access to electricity.