Hydropower for agriculture
I congratulate the government on all its efforts to fight power outages and alleviate poverty, and make the country self-reliant. I believe the government has tried its best and will continue to do so to take Bangladesh to greater heights and dignity. Though power generation is a top priority for the government, we know it is a daunting task to bring a perfect balance between demand and supply at this moment. During the IRRI cultivation season, the demand for electricity hits the peak, raising the frequency of load-shedding across the country and leading to enormous public sufferings.
As Bangladesh is an agro-based country, hydroelectric power generation from multi-purpose irrigation dams can offer a solution to the perennial electricity crisis. Japan, Indonesia and even India have become good examples to follow.
A mini-hydropower plant can produce up to 100 kw of electricity using the natural flow of water. These installations can provide power to an isolated home or a small community, or are sometimes connected to electric power networks. In such plants, the water passing through a generator is directed back into the stream with relatively little impact on the surrounding ecology.
If the site can produce a large amount of excess energy, some power companies will buy the surplus electricity or it can be added to the national grid.
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