According to an article published in Nature Communication Journal led by Mr Siddharth Joshi, if every available rooftop was equipped with solar panels, they could generate enough electricity to power the world.

At least in theory!

What about the reality?

Solar is not just a way for us to transition away from fossil fuels, but it’s a way for every family and the industry to cut energy bills and reduce carbon footprint. Bangladesh, as a country of land scarcity, rooftop solar is the ultimate choice for the renewable energy transition and achieve the target of 10% electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030. As per the latest data of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA), the country’s renewable energy installed capacity is 779.79 MW, in which rooftop solar is 77.70 MWp.

Technology	Off-grid (MW)	On-grid (MW)	Total (MW)
Solar	347.52	198.28	545.8
Wind	2	0.9	2.9
Hydro	0	230	230
Biogas to Electricity	0.69	0	0.69
Biomass to Electricity	0.4	0	0.4
Total	350.61	429.18	779.79

Rooftop solar has two unique attributes that set it apart from other forms of renewable energy generation: fast deployment, and decentralized citizen-driven uptake. These attributes lend it specific advantages over other renewable generation technologies. Rooftop solar therefore brings significant advantages in terms of broad participation of society in the energy transition to a low carbon future, due to the use of residential and public buildings as well as industries.

The country has more than 7,000 RMG factories with vast rooftops well-suited for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Textile factories have around 420 lakh square feet of rooftop space that have the potential to generate at least 350 MW of electricity. Besides these, rooftops of other industries – including poultry, pharmaceuticals, paper, packaging, cold storage facilities etc. could generate around 5000 MW of electricity from rooftop solar.

Benefits of Rooftop Solar

Below are the key benefits of rooftop solar:

• Investing in rooftop solar is secure as it’s giving a good ROI.
• Utilizing existing idle space and no additional land required for installation.
• Off-set electricity bill
• Export excess electricity to the grid under the net metering policy
• Low maintenance cost
• Reduce carbon footprint
• Green sources of energy will help the industry owners to get LEED certification.
• Suitable for the Bangladesh climate as we have good annual solar irradiance. 

Rooftop solar systems are becoming a popular source of electricity generation. With proper planning and appropriate implementation of the system, rooftop owners can have a renewable source of power supply at minimal expense.