Rooftop Solar Dream Fades

A large share of household rooftop solar-power systems installed across Bangladesh are no longer functioning, raising serious questions about the sustainability of the country’s efforts to expand renewable energy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

A recent study found that 47 percent of household solar installations across Bangladesh are no longer operational. The survey attributed the failures to poor maintenance, inadequate technical support, weak monitoring, substandard equipment, insufficient user training and alleged mismanagement of funds.

The situation appears particularly worrying in Dhaka, where a significant proportion of rooftop solar systems installed over the past decade have reportedly fallen into disuse.

A spot survey found that nearly 70 percent of rooftop solar systems in the Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) area were inactive, despite years of government policy support and mandatory requirements for solar installation.

The findings reveal a growing disconnect between Bangladesh’s renewable-energy ambitions and the reality on the ground. Solar panels that were once promoted as a clean and economical solution to the country’s electricity challenges are, in many cases, sitting unused on rooftops, deteriorating because of inadequate maintenance and a lack of incentives to keep them operational.

A decade of policy push
The government began pushing rooftop solar more aggressively in 2010, when it made solar-energy systems mandatory for customers seeking new electricity connections.

Under the policy, residential consumers were required to generate at least 3 percent of their electricity from solar power, while industrial and commercial consumers using more than 50 kilowatts were required to generate 10 percent from solar systems.

According to data cited in the supplied material, Dhaka’s two electricity distribution companies�"DPDC and Dhaka Electricity Supply Company Ltd (DESCO)�"had reported roughly 113.67 megawatts of rooftop solar capacity installed across the capital by June 2025. DPDC data show that the company had installed around 52MW of solar capacity since 2014, but only about 9MW was under net metering as of March 2026. The material also reports that only about 30 percent of systems in the DPDC area were active, leaving nearly 70 percent idle. DESCO, meanwhile, had reported 73.67MW of rooftop solar systems among 50,594 consumers by June 2025. Of these, 896 net-metered systems accounted for 12.16MW. Yet the system has failed to achieve the scale expected by policymakers.

Thousands of systems inactive
Another set of data cited in the supplied material paints an even more concerning picture.
According to data from DPDC and DESCO, Dhaka currently has about 80,723 rooftop solar systems, with combined generation capacity of approximately 60MW. Internal reports of the two utilities indicate that around 80 percent of the installed systems are inactive.

A DPDC official said that coordination, maintenance and accountability become difficult when a building is owned by several people. Even when a solar system is installed, it may be unclear who is responsible for cleaning the panels, repairing the inverter, replacing batteries or maintaining the overall system.

At the same time, the official said interest in industrial rooftop solar is increasing because of rising energy costs and the need for more reliable electricity supplies.

Many consumers have become frustrated after repeated problems involving installation, batteries, maintenance and grid connectivity. What was initially seen as a promising renewable-energy solution has, for some users, become an additional burden.

In another case cited in the material, a housing committee in Mirpur spent Tk3 lakh on a solar system 12 years ago. The system reportedly failed to produce a single kilowatt and was eventually sold to a scrap dealer for just Tk200. The committee planned to use the rooftop for a family mosque instead.

Utilities blame consumers too
Electricity distribution companies, however, argue that consumer negligence is also a major part of the problem.

A DESCO employee said many consumers prioritised obtaining electricity connections over maintaining the solar systems.

The employee also pointed to the use of low-quality panels and inadequate maintenance of inverters as reasons for the rapid deterioration of systems.

DPDC said consumer awareness was an important factor, consumers were effectively creating electronic waste by installing solar panels and then failing to maintain them.

Dust accumulation on panels is another problem. Without regular cleaning, the panels cannot absorb sufficient sunlight and electricity production falls. The result is a vicious cycle: consumers lose confidence when output declines, maintenance is neglected, systems deteriorate further and rooftop solar becomes economically unattractive.

Net metering remains underused
One of the biggest missed opportunities is net metering.
The government has promoted net metering as a mechanism through which rooftop-solar owners can export surplus electricity to the grid and receive financial adjustment through their electricity bills. But the facility has yet to become sufficiently popular among consumers.

Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) Secretary Md Muzibur Rahman has suggested removing the policy requirement that links solar-panel installation with obtaining an electricity connection.
Instead, he called for greater promotion of net metering.

According to the supplied material, SREDA officials have also pointed to a lack of awareness about the system as a major barrier. Consumers themselves say the policy has not always been sufficiently clear.

Lily Haque, a flat owner in Dhaka, said that when the net-metering policy was introduced in 2018, prospective users lacked adequate information about how the system worked. Even some solar-panel sellers could not provide sufficient guidance.

DPDC's Bikash Dewan also pointed to faulty electricity meters as one of the factors affecting the success of net metering.

The net-metering system could potentially transform rooftop solar from a compliance exercise into an economically attractive investment. But inadequate information, regulatory difficulties, technical problems and weak implementation have prevented it from reaching its potential.

Policy revised, but implementation remains the challenge
The government has continued to strengthen its rooftop-solar policy.

On December 21, 2025, the Power Division issued a revised circular making rooftop-solar installation under the net-metering system mandatory for buildings with at least 1,000 square feet of usable rooftop space, with the requirement to remain in place for a minimum of 20 years.

The policy is intended to expand solar generation substantially.
But the latest findings suggest that simply increasing the number of installations will not solve the problem unless existing systems are kept operational. The question is therefore shifting from how many panels are installed to how much electricity they actually generate.

New projects underway
Despite the problems, electricity distributors continue to plan large-scale rooftop-solar projects.
DESCO has undertaken a project to design, build, finance, operate and maintain approximately 120MWp of on-grid solar systems within its jurisdiction.

The plan envisages nearly 15MW of solar capacity in each of eight operation circles.
DESCO has also taken up a project to install a 150kWp solar-power system at the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) head office in Agargaon.