One of Myanmar’s biggest corporations is investing in renewable energy. Yoma Strategic Holdings will work with Philippine partner Ayala Corporation for a 200 megawatt micro generation enterprise, the Myanmar Times Reported.
Yoma Strategic and Ayala subsidiary AC Energy will invest USD 30 million into Yoma Micro Power, which will finish 250 micro generation plants by the end of 2019 and scale up to around 2,000 sites over the next four years. These would likely include small scale renewables such as micro-hydroelectric dams and solar mini-grids. Hydropower already accounts for more than half of Myanmar’s electricity, but the hydropower industry has come under fire from environmental groups and local communities wary of potential damage to river ecosystems. Micro-hydro technology could be a more socially and environmentally friendly alternative.
“There is a need to significantly increase generation capacity and build out last-mile distribution infrastructure, which Yoma Micro Power has embarked upon,” the Myanmar Times quoted Melvin Pun, CEO of Yoma Strategic, as saying.
Myanmar has one of the lowest electrification rates in Asia with only around 60 percent of households connected to the national grid. The government aims for total electrification by 2030, but that goal will require USD 2 to 3 billion, by most estimates. Solar and micro-hydro technology are merely a fraction of the government’s planed energy mix. But proponents claim that small, independent grids are an effective way of supplying power to remote populations.
In addition to long-term electrification, the Myanmar government has been struggling to fill the immediate demand for power. It recently awarded four high value emergency tenders to Hong Kong supplier VPower Group. The tenders call for over 900 megawatts of liquid natural gas-generated power. However industry experts have criticized the short timeline of the tenders (210 days) and harsh penalties for not meeting them.
