Bangladesh to open solar R&D lab next summer - report

Nov 14, 2013 - The government of Bangladesh will set up a testing facility for solar equipment by June 2014, the first of its kind in the country, the Daily Star said today.

The research and development (R&D) laboratory will be installed by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology under a contract awarded by state-controlled Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL). The latter was created to promote the adoption of green technology. The lab will be financed through a USD-500,000 (EUR-372,000) funding from the World Bank.

Once operational, the facility will test and monitor solar products on a random basis in order to boost their quality, the daily quoted IDCOL’s executive director and CEO Mahmood Malik as saying. As a result, it is expected improve the performance of residential solar power plants and enhance customer satisfaction, he added. Initially, the R&D centre will verify the performance of certain photovoltaic (PV) products such as solar modules’ peak power ratings and battery capacity.

IDCOL will also seal a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the university within a month that will ensure the smooth operation of the testing centre, which aims to get ISO 17025 certification within five years so as to turn into a commercially-viable and internationally-recognised testing facility.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.743)

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