Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– The Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development II (RERED II) Project is continuing to provide access to electricity in rural areas of Bangladesh through renewable energy sources.  
The successful solar home systems (SHS) program supported under the project has emerged one of the fastest growing program in the world. The country celebrated the 3.0 million SHS installation early this month.  
Every month, more than 50,000 rural households access electricity through the solar home systems (SHS) program of the government of Bangladesh, supported by the World Bank and other development partners.  
Implemented by the government-owned Infrastructure development company limited (IDCOL) through a partnership with the non-government organizations (NGOs), Bangladesh’s SHS program is a successful example of public-private partnership (PPP).
The RERED II project is also supporting renewable energy-based mini-grids in remote rural areas to provide electricity.
A number of mini-grids with a combined capacity of about 0.8 MW are currently under construction.   Targeting rural growth centers, the mini-grids are expected to contribute to increased economic activities in rural areas.  
The project has mobilized grant support from the Global Partnership for Output Based Aid (GPOBA) and US Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide grant support to the mini-grid schemes in addition to the credit support from the International Development Association (IDA), the concessionary lending of the World Bank.
The project is also supporting replacement of diesel-run irrigation pumps with solar pumps.  So far, about 190 pumps have been approved for financing and 70 have already been installed.
The solar irrigation pumps are reducing costs of irrigation to the farmers and also helping to save foreign exchange for importing diesel. By providing a renewable source, the solar irrigation pumps are also contributing to reduced green-house gas emissions. The Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF) has provided US$10 million matching grant support to the solar irrigation pumps component.
More than 28 million households in Bangladesh still rely on traditional biomass fuels burnt in inefficient stoves. With support from the RERED II project, IDCOL has embarked upon the improved cook stoves program that will benefit rural women and children, who are exposed to indoor air pollution from inefficient stoves.  49 NGOs have started dissemination of the improved cook stoves.

BBN/SSR/AD-25Nov14-12:09 pm (BST)