Sep 8, 2026
| Daily Sun Report
RMG leaders and energy experts have called for a rapid shift to renewable energy and greater energy sovereignty, warning that Bangladesh’s prolonged energy crisis, growing dependence on fuel imports and unreliable power supply are threatening the sustainability and competitiveness of the garment sector.
The call came at the “Rapid Energy Transition Conference: Powering Security, Sustainability and Growth in Bangladesh RMG”, organised by Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) Bangladesh on Monday.
The conference brought together 108 representatives from RMG factories, along with representatives from BGMEA, BKMEA and BSREA, international brands, financial institutions, renewable-energy companies and technical organisations.
Speakers said Bangladesh must make renewable-energy transition a central part of its long-term industrial resilience strategy and urged stakeholders to accelerate investment, financing and policy support.
In his opening remarks, Abil Bin Amin, executive director of ETI Bangladesh, called for a just and collaborative energy transition, saying factories and workers should not have to bear the costs of meeting international climate targets alone.
Eng Imran Kader Turjo, director of BKMEA, said Bangladesh could not secure the RMG sector’s energy future through rooftop solar alone.
“We are already late; these renewable-energy and infrastructure initiatives should have been implemented 10 to 12 years ago. Our priority now must be rapid and focused implementation,” he said.
Turjo called for a hybrid approach combining factory rooftop solar, reliable grid electricity, larger renewable-energy facilities on suitable land and appropriately assessed energy-storage systems.
Nishat Nahrin Hamid, chairman of BGMEA’s Standing Committee on Energy Optimisation, said renewable energy had become essential to production security and competitiveness.
“As an industry, we must become more independent when it comes to energy. Energy sovereignty must be part of Bangladesh’s industrial resilience strategy,” she said.
She cited a BGMEA survey of 453 factories that identified around 165–170MW of untapped rooftop solar potential.
However, investment costs, limited roof space, inadequate technical support and difficulties accessing affordable finance continue to hinder implementation, particularly among smaller factories.
Nishat called for predictable multi-year policies, technically viable solutions, stronger grid infrastructure and bankable power-purchase agreements. She also urged international brands to align their sustainability and procurement teams so that environmental requirements are reflected in pricing, purchasing practices and direct factory support.
Kazy Mohammad Iqbal Hossain, South Asia regional sustainability manager at Lindex, said responsibility for the energy transition could not rest with factories alone.
He called for fairer purchasing practices, better coordination between brands’ sustainability and procurement teams and longer-term sourcing relationships.
Mostafa Al Mahmud, president of BSREA, said regulatory delays, unclear pricing, taxation and inadequate upfront financing had made the transition more difficult and expensive.
“Delay is costly. There is no alternative to renewable energy,” he said.
He called for faster approvals, clearer electricity-purchasing arrangements and appropriate tax treatment, noting that refinancing after project completion could not address factories’ upfront investment needs.
At the conference, Priyong Sabastini, senior programme officer at ETI Bangladesh, said the RMG sector was facing a worsening domestic energy crisis alongside growing international pressure from LDC graduation, EU regulations and brands’ net-zero commitments.
Hasan Mehedi, chief executive of Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN), said Bangladesh’s growing reliance on imported LNG, coal, oil and cross-border electricity was increasing its energy vulnerability.
He noted that imported LNG’s share of Bangladesh’s gas supply rose from around 11 percent in FY2018–19 to 35 percent in FY2025–26.
“We should not wait until 2029 to begin preparing for 2030. The preparation has to start now,” he said.
Mehedi said scaling industrial solar capacity to 2,000MW by 2030 could generate around 3.1 billion units of electricity annually and potentially save up to Tk5,713 crore in furnace-oil costs each year if solar power displaced furnace-oil generation.
He also presented a 10kWp rooftop solar model costing around Tk7.5 lakh, estimating savings of about Tk17.5 lakh over 20 years compared with purchasing the same amount of electricity at the assumed industrial tariff.
Ashis Kumar Basak, general manager of Ha-Meem Group, said solar power had reduced the group’s blended electricity cost by around Tk1–1.25 per unit, with an estimated payback period of 4.5 to six years.
Farzana Rahman and Tasfin Fahad of BRAC Bank explained that eligible green-financing projects could access concessional refinancing facilities through participating commercial banks, subject to documentation, technical evidence, project viability and credit assessment.
Key recommendations
The conference recommended converting national and RMG renewable-energy targets for 2030 into annual installation targets with clear institutional responsibilities.
Participants also called for affordable pre-financing for viable renewable-energy projects instead of relying solely on refinancing after installation.
Other recommendations included:
fixed approval timelines and a one-stop net-metering process;
allowing factories to purchase renewable electricity directly from independent generators through commercially viable power-purchase agreements;
clustered solar projects involving five to 10 smaller factories to reduce transaction costs and improve access to finance;
predictable multi-year industrial electricity pricing;
a credible domestic system for tracking renewable-energy generation and renewable-energy certificates;
and stronger alignment between brands’ sustainability targets, purchasing practices, financing, pricing and long-term sourcing commitments.
Closing the conference, Munir Uddin Shamim, director of programmes at ETI Bangladesh, highlighted the human impact of energy insecurity, saying it ultimately affects workers, their incomes and their families.
He stressed that the renewable-energy transition must therefore be both commercially viable and socially just.
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