Myanmar Wind Power Energy Storage Project

A deal for Myanmar's first wind power project with the participation of a Chinese energy infrastructure company was signed on Wednesday, a major step in bilateral new-energy cooperation, the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar said in a statement released on Thursday.

Myanmar has many hilly, rural areas and more than 2,800 kilometres of coastline suitable for harnessing wind power. However, the Renewable Energy Association Myanmar (REAM) expresses little hope that the government will support wind energy projects, stating that there are several reasons why investors are reluctant to take risks on Myanmar renewable energy projects.

Myanmar is moving to exploit solar and wind energy, but experts said such attempts must be stepped up to smoothen the country's development. Soe Soe Ohn, director of the national electrification project at the Rural Development Department, said solar energy offered high potential particularly in rural electrification.

The Myanmar Power System Efficiency and Resilience Project will finance the upgrade to the Ywama gas-fired power plant, improving the availability and reliability of electricity services to consumers in the Yangon region.

Active role by Chinese companies has already taken place in supporting the country with the much-needed energy supply. Myanmar's first 100-megabyte photovoltaic power generation project, the Jingda Sub-project, funded and developed by Power Construction Corp of China, was connected to the grid on January 18.

The photovoltaic project group in central Myanmar has five sub-projects, with a grid-connected capacity of 160 megawatts and annual power generation of 342 million kilowatt-hours.