The Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL) plans to set up 40 lakh solar home systems across Bangladesh by December 2015, buoyed by the faster rate at which the earlier targets were met.

Previously, the company resolved to install 25 lakh solar home systems (SHS) by 2014, but that target looks to be achieved by June 2013.

Once completed, the combined capacity of the SHSs will be 225 megawatts, sufficient to fully serve 2 crore homes, which is about 12.5 percent of the country's 16 crore population, Islam said.

IDCOL, with financial support from the World Bank, started the programme in 2003 with the aim of providing access to electricity in the off-grid rural areas of the country.

Initially, five partner organisations were selected to set up 50,000 SHSs in the off-grid areas by 2008.

But the target was achieved in 2005, three years ahead of the schedule and $2 million below the estimated cost.

On the back of the encouraging result, the company adjusted the plan to install 10 lakh SHSs by December 2012.

Yet again the target was reached 1.5 years ahead of the schedule, in June 2011, thanks to easy credit facilities, subsidies, technical support and quality equipment.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the 1 millionth SHS installed under this programme, at Sandwip in February.

The company invested around Tk 1,440 crore -- Tk 1,200 crore in loans and Tk 240 crore in grants -- for the installations of 10 lakh SHSs.