THERE are great potentials for Bangladesh to generate electricity from renewable sources. Electricity generation by using the sun's rays, from biomass or droppings of birds and animals, from the water by operating small hydroelectric projects, from the winds by running windmills and even from the waves of the ocean, are all possible in the context of Bangladesh.

Electricity from these non conventional sources can be as much as 11,000 mw when the country has been generating some 3,500 mw on average, with the demand being some 5,000 mw from conventional sources.

This projection was made at a seminar held in Dhaka last year are all in the realm of probabilities. The same will require some time for planning, preparing and investing in all types of projects to generate the required amount of electricity. This is understandable. But one has to make a start at some point, even after suffering from lack of action in the past to be able to secure the future. The power generation potentials stated by experts are based of the experience of neighboring India where the technologies of renewable energy have been developed with great success.

Bangladesh has great prospects for the development of solar power. This country gets good sunshine throughout the year. The experts said that Bangladesh can generate 10,000 mw of electricity from the solar source alone. There is also the opportunity to save about 1000 mw of electricity from the use of energy saving appliances. If this saving can be made by using devices that would help the more efficient use of electricity, then the same must be popularised extensively throughout the country. The amount of electricity to be saved, thus, is nearly equivalent to the total amount of current shortfall in supply compared to the demand.