{"id":36706,"date":"2019-12-03T10:14:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T10:14:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-06-20T18:21:20","modified_gmt":"2020-06-20T18:21:20","slug":"11706-in-cambodia-solar-power-surges-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/11706-in-cambodia-solar-power-surges-2\/","title":{"rendered":"In Cambodia, solar power surges"},"content":{"rendered":"

One hour west of Cambodia\u2019s capital an array of iridescent panels stretches between palm trees, glistening through dust clouds from a neighbouring highway. A year ago it was a barren expanse of chalky soil. Now it\u2019s Cambodia\u2019s largest solar farm.<\/p>\n

The joint Cambodian-Chinese project, which came online in August, is only Cambodia\u2019s second utility-scale solar project. But the government has approved more than\u00a0four<\/a>\u00a0major solar farms to be built across the country.<\/p>\n

For a nation that has relied on<\/a> massive dams, fuel oil, and more recently, coal power for electricity, the solar surge is a significant step toward a lower-carbon electricity grid. However, Cambodia has also signed off on more fossil fuel power plants. As electricity demand in the country and across Southeast Asia continues to climb, whether solar can displace\u00a0fossil-fuel-generated power\u00a0will greatly influence the region\u2019s air pollution and carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

Cambodia\u2019s solar potential<\/h2>\n

\"Cambodia's<\/a>
\n(Image: adapted from\u00a0Stimson Center<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

With its sunny climate, Cambodia has strong\u00a0solar-development potential:\u00a0an estimated\u00a0minimum of 8,000 megawatts<\/a> of\u00a0capacity. But as recently as 2016 the Cambodian government was sceptical of solar. Policymakers expressed concerns<\/a> that it was too expensive and unreliable, and the government did not include any renewable energy projects or targets in its national energy plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cFive years ago, I think it still was reasonably correct for policymakers to say that they did not see a way for solar to compete with alternatives that were locally available,\u201d said Courtney Weatherby<\/a>, a researcher at the Stimson Center who focuses on power planning in the region. But since then the country has rapidly changed course, she said.<\/p>\n

Over the past decade, Cambodia\u2019s electricity usage shot up \u2013 averaging a 20% annual increase<\/a> in demand since 2010. Power supplies were already having trouble keeping up, but then a lengthy drought<\/a> struck earlier this year, crippling the country\u2019s dams, which have historically provided the bulk of its electricity.<\/p>\n

In response, the government commissioned<\/a> the four new solar farms, as well as a new diesel power station and a dam. Cambodia now plans to generate 20% of its power<\/a> from solar within the next few years, up from just 1% in 2018<\/a>.<\/p>\n