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Abstract
The development of renewable energy (RE) sector is a key to sustainable energy transition. Despite various government initiatives including supportive policies and financial incentives, Bangladesh still lags behind in the development and expansion of RE. To achieve global goals of adopting clean energy sources under sustainable development goals (SDGs) and mitigation strategy of global climate change, it has become imperative to examine the potential challenges, risks and opportunity of this sector. This paper assesses the current state of RE sector in Bangladesh using the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis. It finds that potential natural conditions, institutional arrangements, growing energy demand, recognition of RE in government policies, grid connection, human resources, and technology are the strength of renewable energy sector in Bangladesh. The weaknesses include variability in climatic condition, lack of awareness and social acceptance, lack of subsidy, higher unit cost, fragmented institutional arrangement, persistent supply and demand gap, higher initial cost, and policy inconsistency. This study also reveals that private capital and foreign direct investment, new job creation and economic development due to RE deployment, and availability of coastline and landmass are the opportunity for the renewable energy sector in Bangladesh. On the other hand, environmental risk, financial risk, renewable energy security and land acquisition are the threats for the development of RE in the country. This analysis provides strategic insights for policymakers and stakeholders to design targeted policies, mitigate structural weaknesses, leverage emerging opportunities, and accelerate a sustainable and just energy transition aligned with national development goals.