Uptake of solar energy by industries in Bangladesh: Driving factors, barriers, and opportunities

Bangladesh requires a huge amount of energy to keep its industries growing by using traditional fossil fuel options. The country has a huge potential for the rooftop solar PV systems (RSS) given its geographical location in the subtropical region, but the uptake of the RSS has not been satisfactory compared with the opportunity. There are studies on the potential rooftop area for installing the RSS, but no studies on the industries of Bangladesh from a user perspective. The present research identified the drivers and barriers to the RSS installation by interviewing representatives of different industries and using the technological acceptance model (TAM). It revealed that the emergence of the OPEX (operational expenditure) model, cost-effectiveness, energy security, and environmental awareness has driven the uptake of the RSS, whereas the upfront cost, bureaucracy, structural barrier, lack of information, and lack of financial incentives have demotivated the installation of the RSS. Financial incentives through policy adjustment, awareness building, and presenting best cases are recommended to motivate industries to adopt the RSS on a large scale.