Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution (BSTI) is working with other government institutions as well as private sector to upgrade the country’s testing, certification and quality compliance regime in the area of rooftop solar power, said Dr Md Nazrul Anwar, Director General of BSTI.
He added, there is 229 products for which compulsory certification is required. The dialogue was organized by Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) with support from IFC’s Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT) project.
He mentioned that BSTI has already introduced the Bangladesh Standards (BDS) for four key equipment of rooftop solar power and has made it compulsory to get certification from BSTI for sale or marketing of these products. Ferdaus Ara Begum, Chief Executive Officer of BUILD welcomed the audience and thanked BSTI for their reforms. She stressed that for complying with the emerging challenges and upcoming targets for the renewable energy sector, the quality and regulatory issues must be addressed for rooftop solar plants.
It would for example be important to get the manufacturers, importers and businesses involved in rooftop solar equipment supply registered with a relevant government agency such as the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA).
Rashedul Alam, Assistant Director at SREDA mentioned that SREDA has been closely working with BSTI to ensure standards for the rooftop solar equipment.
