WB to provide $ 172mn for solar home systems ; Deal to be signed Monday
Dhaka, Nov 13 (UNB) - The World Bank will provide $172 million additional financing for Bangladesh to support the installation of additional 630,000 solar home systems and other renewable energy mini-grid schemes.
The US$ 172 million credit is an additional financing to the ongoing Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development Project (RERED) following the project’s success in installing solar home systems in rural areas where grid electricity is not economically feasible or hard to reach, said an official at the World Bank.
Earlier, on October 4, 2011, the World Bank board approved the $172 million additional financing.
A loan agreement to this effect will be signed on Monday at the Economic Relations Division (ERD). World Bank country director Ellen Goldstein and ERD Secretary Iqbal Mahmood will ink the deal on behalf of their respective sides.
The credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessionary arm, has 40 years to maturity with a 10-year grace period. It carries a service charge of 0.75 percent.
The official said more than a million homes and shops in remote areas have installed solar home systems with support from the World Bank and other development partners. The solar home system component of the RERED project is being implemented by the Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL), government owned financial institution.
The partner organisations, mostly non-government organisations (NGOs), install the solar home systems. The World Bank had earlier provided an additional financing of $130 million at the end of 2009. Since December 2009, more than 300,000 solar home systems have been installed.
In Bangladesh, only about one-third of rural households have access to electricity with about 16 million households yet to be electrified. Currently, 40,000 rural families install solar home systems every month on average. Apart from installing 630,000 new solar home systems by 2012, the additional financing would also be utilised for other options such as mini-grids.
The US$ 172 million credit is an additional financing to the ongoing Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development Project (RERED) following the project’s success in installing solar home systems in rural areas where grid electricity is not economically feasible or hard to reach, said an official at the World Bank.
Earlier, on October 4, 2011, the World Bank board approved the $172 million additional financing.
A loan agreement to this effect will be signed on Monday at the Economic Relations Division (ERD). World Bank country director Ellen Goldstein and ERD Secretary Iqbal Mahmood will ink the deal on behalf of their respective sides.
The credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessionary arm, has 40 years to maturity with a 10-year grace period. It carries a service charge of 0.75 percent.
The official said more than a million homes and shops in remote areas have installed solar home systems with support from the World Bank and other development partners. The solar home system component of the RERED project is being implemented by the Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL), government owned financial institution.
The partner organisations, mostly non-government organisations (NGOs), install the solar home systems. The World Bank had earlier provided an additional financing of $130 million at the end of 2009. Since December 2009, more than 300,000 solar home systems have been installed.
In Bangladesh, only about one-third of rural households have access to electricity with about 16 million households yet to be electrified. Currently, 40,000 rural families install solar home systems every month on average. Apart from installing 630,000 new solar home systems by 2012, the additional financing would also be utilised for other options such as mini-grids.
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