Solar-Driven Aquaculture: Powering Smart and Sustainable Fish Farming in Bangladesh
LightCastle Analytics Wing
November 30, 2025
Bangladesh’s aquaculture is no longer just about ponds, water, and manual feeding. In the last few decades, the rhythm has changed. Mechanization through motors, aerators, and water pumps has transformed daily operations. With this shift, electricity has become essential, powering the very systems that now define the soundscape of aquaculture hubs. So, why has electricity become essential all of a sudden?
Bangladesh’s population and export ambitions are expanding, but available arable land is shrinking due to urbanization and competing land uses. Farmers are now producing more fish in less water, a process known as intensification. The country’s aquaculture output has already reached 5.02 million tons, with fish contributing to over 60% of total animal protein consumption1.
However, intensification comes with a critical dependency on power. High-density ponds require continuous aeration to maintain adequate oxygen levels. Pumps must keep water flowing to remove waste and regulate temperature. Automated feeders operate several times daily to prevent under- or overfeeding. Frequent power cuts can disrupt aeration and water circulation, causing sudden oxygen crashes that often lead to mass fish mortality. In intensive fish farming, an uninterrupted electricity supply is crucial, and any outage can result in significant stock losses quickly.
Figure: Intensification in a small pond in Teknaf using advanced technology
The data from the Vietnam Solar–Aquaculture Sector Study (2023), which aligns closely with South Asian intensive pond conditions, indicate that intensive farms consume 158.8–206.8 kWh of electricity per hectare per day. Specifically, aerators use 144–192 kWh/day, and pumps consume approximately 14.8 kWh/day2. In Bangladesh, this level of energy demand often forces farmers to rely on diesel backup, priced at BDT 102 per liter3, which drives up operating costs and increases carbon emissions, illustrating a clear need for renewable energy and smart technology that offers a way to power this progress sustainably.
Solar-Smart Aquaculture: Advancing Productivity and Resilience
Solar power offers Bangladesh’s fish farmers a clean, consistent, and affordable energy source. When paired with IoT (Internet of Things) systems, sensors, data loggers, and automated controls, it unlocks entirely new levels of efficiency.
Economic Advantages
Cost savings: Solar systems can cut operational energy costs up to 80%, depending on system size4.
Improved productivity: Reliable power ensures constant aeration, reducing mortality by 20–25%, and boosting yield5.
Return on investment: Depending on the energy capacity and the size of farming, the average payback period for solar installations is 3–5 years, after which savings continue6.
In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, solar panels installed on shrimp farms have helped farmers reduce their monthly power costs by 30%.7 Using daytime solar energy at the farm and selling excess daytime solar energy to the grid, farms can reduce their electricity costs by approximately 83%.8
Figure: Shrimp Pond in Bac Lieu province, Vietnam. Source: World Fish
Environmental Advantages
Zero emissions: Replacing diesel eliminates greenhouse gases by 40–70% depending on the configuration of the solar system9.
Water conservation: Floating solar systems reduce pond evaporation by 60% maintaining cooler, more stable environments for fish10.
Blue economy alignment: Solar aquaculture fits directly into Bangladesh’s Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan and Blue Economy Roadmap, to reach 30% renewable energy by 2030 and up to 40% by 204111.
China has already taken the lead in this area. The country hosts several large ‘fishery-solar hybrid parks,’ including a 250 MW floating solar project in Hebei Province, which features 370,000 panels spanning 353 hectares of ponds12. These farms produce both fish and power, a dual revenue stream Bangladesh could replicate.
Figure: 250 MW Shilihai fishery-solar PV project, Tangshan, Hebei. Source: Dajin Heavy Industry
India, too, is moving in this direction. The PM-KUSUM solar scheme aims to add 34,800 MW of solar capacity by March 2026 and will install 14 lakh (1.4 million) standalone solar agriculture pumps, as well as solarise 35 lakh (3.5 million) grid-connected agriculture pumps13.
Problems and Barriers: The Challenges Beneath the Surface
Despite the advantages, scaling solar-powered aquaculture in Bangladesh faces significant hurdles.
High Upfront Investment: Solar systems remain capital-intensive. The estimated cost for a quality solar installation with a reliable warranty is approximately BDT 6,600 per square meter14. Smallholders, who comprise most aquaculture producers, often lack access to affordable financing.
Technical and Skill Gaps:
Implementors’ / Engineers’ Perspective: Effective deployment depends on engineers and technicians who can design systems, integrate sensors, calibrate equipment, manage power loads, and troubleshoot hardware–software interactions. Gaps in this technical capacity can lead to poor system performance or early equipment failure.
Farmers’ Perspective: Farmers do not need engineering skills, but they do require practical training on operating the dashboard or app, interpreting basic sensor alerts, performing routine checks, and knowing when to call a technician. Without this user-level capacity, farmers may underutilise the system’s features or overlook early warning signs.
Power Management and Connectivity: Battery degradation and poor-quality components are major issues. Without proper maintenance, storage efficiency can drop 20–30% within a few months.15 Moreover, rural internet connectivity is inconsistent, limiting real-time data collection and automation.
E-Waste and Policy Barriers: The success stories from China and Vietnam come with warnings: solar e-waste is an emerging problem. For instance, Vietnam has mandated 20% solar battery recycling under its 2023 Renewable Energy Regulation16. Bangladesh, however, lacks a clear recycling or end-of-life policy for solar or IoT components, posing environmental risks as adoption grows.
FTB’s Centres of Excellence (CoE): Accelerating Smart Solar-Aquaculture Integration
The FoodTechBangladesh aims to establish 4 Centres of Excellence (CoE) in Khulna, Mymensingh, Patuakhali, and Cox’s Bazar to transform Bangladesh’s aquaculture sector through innovation, collaboration, and knowledge-driven solutions. The program aims to organize over 144 demonstrations & workshops, and train more than 1,800 farmers across Bangladesh. Moreover, more than 24 on-farm trials will be performed17. The programoperates under a consortium model linking Dutch and Bangladeshi partners, thereby enabling integrated aquaculture solutions across the value chain.
Figure: Solar-powered CoE at Cox’s Bazar
Bangladesh’s aquaculture has reached a turning point: intensification demands power, reliability, and precision. With farms requiring more electricity per hectare, conventional energy sources are becoming increasingly costly and too carbon-heavy.
Solar-powered, IoT-enabled aquaculture presents a path forward, one that is cleaner, more cost-effective, and more resilient.
Author
This article was authored by Faiza Tahiya, Business Analyst at LightCastle Partners. For further clarifications, contact here: [email protected].
References
MOFL. (2024). Yearbook of Fisheries Statistics of Bangladesh 2023–24. Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Government of Bangladesh.
MOFA. (2023). Solar-driven aquaculture technology, Vietnam–Netherlands. Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
BPC. (2025). Local selling price of petroleum products. Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation.
ABB. (2018). A green shift in aquaculture. ASEA Brown Boveri.
Sultana, T., Haque, M., Salam, M., & Alam, M. (2017). Effect of aeration on growth and production of fish in intensive aquaculture systems in earthen ponds. Journal of the Bangladesh Agricultural University.
Momeni, A., Gorjian, S., & Ghobadian, B. (2025). Techno-economic analysis of a marine aquavoltaic system in Iran. AgriVoltaics Conference Proceedings.
Reccessary. (2024). PV panels help cut costs by 30%: Vietnam’s shrimp farmer. Reccessary.
MOFA. (2023). Solar-driven aquaculture technology, Vietnam–Netherlands. Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Roy, P. (2025). The convergence of renewable energy and aquacultural engineering for a sustainable food system. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology.
Abdelal, Q. (2021). Floating PV: An assessment of water quality and evaporation reduction in semi-arid regions. International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies.
MoEFCC. (2022). Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan 2022–2041. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of Bangladesh.
Enertherm Engineering (EE). (2025). China commissions 250 MW fishery–solar hybrid project with 370,000 panels.
MNRE. (n.d.). Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM). Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India.
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