IANS/Dhaka

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has installed a solar power system at her office to encourage green energy expansion in her power-starved nation.

The country’s single largest solar power system, with a peaking capacity of generating 21.6 kilowatts, is now operating on a trial basis, said officials of the Power Development Board (PDB) that supervised the installation.

The system has been designed and installed by a local private firm Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd and now awaits formal inauguration, the officials said. The firm mainly produces dry batteries that are exported to India and several other countries.

The move followed a government decision for establishing solar power units in all public and semi-government offices to promote expansion of renewable energy from the sun, wind, biomass, and biogas - aiming at meeting 5% of the country’s total power demand by 2015 and 10% by 2020.

At present, contribution of renewable energy to overall power generation is less than 1%, with solar power home systems installed mainly in off-grid areas, which is the current leading green energy generator in the country.

By the end of October this year, more than 400,000 solar power units were installed in different parts of the country generating over 20 megawatts of electricity.