Solar power in Myanmar on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Solar power in Myanmar has the potential to generate 51,973.8 TWh/year, with an average of over 5 sun hours per day. Even though most electricity is produced from hydropower in Myanmar, the country has rich technical solar power potential that is the highest in the
Solar power in Myanmar has the potential to generate 51,973.8 TWh/year, with an average of over 5 sun hours per day. Even though most electricity is produced from hydropower in Myanmar, the country has rich technical solar power potential that is the highest in the Greater Mekong Subregion
The Greater Mekong Subregion, (GMS) or just Greater Mekong, is a trans-national region of the Mekong River basin in Southeast Asia. The region is home to more than 300 million people. It came into being with the launch of a development program i ...
; however, in terms of installed capacity Myanmar lags largely behind Thailand and Vietnam.
The country aims to generate 8% of electricity through renewable energy sources—through wind and solar energy—by 2021 and 12% by 2025. In general, foreign direct investment in renewable energy in Myanmar was very limited during the period of 2012-2018.
In rural areas, photovoltaics are used for charging batteries and pumping water. 70% of the Burmese population of 50 million live in rural areas.
Myanmar's opened its first solar power plant
A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building- ...
in Minbu, Magway Division
Magway Region ( my, မကွေးတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Magway Division) is an administrative divisions of Myanmar, administrative division in central Myanmar. It is the second largest of Myanmar's seven divisions, ...
, in November 2018. The plant will produce 40 megawatts (MW) of electricity in its first phase of operations and will produce 170 MW once fully operational.
The country has plans to build two solar energy plants—in Myingyan and Wundwin in Mandalay Division
Mandalay Region ( my, မန္တလေးတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Mandalay Division) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It is located in the center of the country, bordering Sagaing Region and Magway Region to ...
—each to have a generation capacity of 150 MW.
To accelerate the development of solar energy in the country, Myanmar needs to improve renewable energy governance, build an effective regulatory framework for renewable energy and simplify the business environment for investors. As of 2021, Myanmar is not yet a member of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is the first international organis ...
), an international organization that facilitates cooperation and promotes the adoption of renewable energy; joining IRENA could help Myanmar receive external support and attract more investment in renewables.
See also
*Energy in Myanmar
Myanmar had a total primary energy supply ( TPES) of 16.57 Mtoe in 2013. Electricity consumption was 8.71 TWh. 65% of the primary energy supply consists of biomass energy, used almost exclusively (97%) in the residential sector. Myanmar’s ener ...
References
{{Solar power by country Energy in MyanmarMyanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...