Solar Panels Planned for 6,544 Local Government Facilities to Generate 300 MW

The government has taken an initiative to install rooftop solar panels at 6,544 institutions, markets and growth centres under the Local Government Division, with a target of generating around 300 megawatts of electricity.

State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam disclosed the plan at a press conference at the Secretariat on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. The programme has an allocation of BDT 370 crore, according to the minister.

The initiative aims to utilise the unused rooftops of government and local government facilities for renewable power generation while meeting part of the electricity demand of the institutions themselves.

According to the plan, around 150 MW of the electricity generated will be used by the respective institutions, while another 150 MW will be sold to the government, the state minister said.

The programme will cover a wide range of local government infrastructure, including district council buildings, municipalities, union parishad buildings, field offices of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), WASA offices, buildings of the Department of Public Health Engineering, as well as commercial centres, haats, markets and growth centres.

Speaking at the press conference, Shahe Alam said making the best possible use of existing government infrastructure is one of the key objectives of the initiative. Rooftop solar systems, he said, can help institutions meet part of their electricity requirements while expanding the use of renewable energy.

The concerned institutions have already been instructed to take the necessary administrative measures for implementing the programme.

The government has set January 27, 2027 as the target date to begin generating electricity from the rooftop solar installations, the state minister said.

The initiative comes as the government has been highlighting the need for a planned and sustainable approach to the country's power and energy sector. Shahe Alam recently said the government was working on short-, medium- and long-term plans for the sector.

If implemented as planned, the rooftop solar programme could increase the use of renewable energy across local government institutions while allowing participating facilities to generate part of their own electricity requirements.