Special ordinance issued to expand rooftop solar: limited tender up to Tk 5 crore, projects capped at 5 MW

The government has enacted a new law with special policy and financial incentives to encourage private sector investment in environment-friendly power generation on the rooftops of buildings and factories. To that end, the 'Special Solar Power Installation Ordinance, 2026' was issued on 19 October and came into legal force from the day the gazette was published.

Under the new law, solar power systems can be set up not only on residential buildings but also on the premises, rooftops, adjacent fallow land, open water bodies or tea gardens of all government, semi-government and autonomous institutions, local government structures and state-owned companies.

Through this, environment-friendly irrigation equipment, agriculture-based cold storage, charging points for electric vehicles, floating solar power and dual solar systems integrated with agriculture can be installed. The maximum generation capacity of each project has been set at five megawatts. However, conventional large-scale ground-based solar power plants have been kept outside the scope of this special ordinance.

The obligation of open tender has been relaxed for implementing solar power projects with own financing. Equipment can be purchased through limited tender for up to Tk 5 crore, and use of the central e-GP portal has not been made mandatory for expenditure up to that amount.

To ensure transparency of the process, a tripartite agreement among the customer, the investor and the concerned service-providing authority has been made mandatory. The agreement, signed with the approval of a senior official, will include clear terms on minimum availability of electricity, price of surplus electricity, bill payment, quality of equipment, safety, and removal of expired equipment or harmful waste.

Two specific models have been kept in the ordinance to facilitate investment. In the first model, the customer will not have to bear any initial cost; the private entrepreneur will install the system at his own expense, operate and maintain it regularly, and the price and distribution of electricity will be determined according to the terms of the agreement. In the second model, an institution can install solar panels with its own financing and keep ownership under itself.

To create competition at the local level, a district-wise list of eligible institutions will be prepared, from which, or through an open verification process, service providers can be selected.

A provision has been kept to form a national policy council headed by the prime minister for the overall expansion of solar power and inter-ministerial coordination. Technical committees will be formed at upazila and district levels for field-level supervision and they will send regular progress reports to the central council. The Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) will maintain the overall database of these projects and monitor their effectiveness.

The ordinance also provides for punishment. Theft of solar panels or equipment, buying and selling of stolen goods and keeping them in custody can be punished with up to three years' imprisonment or a fine of Tk 50,000 or both. Damaging equipment can bring five years' jail or a Tk 500,000 fine, and providing a connection without approval or obstructing government supervision can bring three years' imprisonment or a Tk 500,000 fine. These offences will be triable in metropolitan or first-class magistrate courts as well as mobile courts.

According to SREDA, the country's overall solar power generation capacity is currently about 1,852 megawatts, of which 1,474 megawatts is connected to the national grid. Of this, rooftop solar power stood at about 418 megawatts as of June 2026.

Under the government's master plan, an outline has been set to generate a total of 10,000 megawatts of solar power by 2030, comprising 5,500 megawatts from rooftop systems and 4,500 megawatts from large solar power plants.

To accelerate this transition, under a special incentive, surplus electricity supplied to the national grid from a solar system with battery will be paid at Tk 10.50 per unit under specified conditions. To get this benefit, the system must be commissioned by 28 February 2027, and it will remain in force until 28 February 2030.