Week in ASEAN: Indonesia to install rooftop solar panels on 800 public buildings, Five new solar farms to be connected to the national grid, Myanmar to increase renewable energy sources and More

Indonesia to install rooftop solar panels on 800 public buildings

The Indonesian government plans to install rooftop solar panels on at least 800 public buildings across the country this year as it steps up its renewable energy push to lessen its reliance on fossil fuels. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has allocated 175 billion rupiah (12.76 million USD) to install the panels on boarding schools, clinics, orphanages, government offices and police stations in 17 provinces. The ministry’s Renewables Infrastructure Director Puspa Dewi said due to a tight budget, the project would focus first on public buildings as they have higher electricity demand during the day than residential areas. The programme is part of the Indonesian government’s efforts to increase the rate of renewable energy use to 23 percent by 2025 in line with its National Energy Plan.

Five new solar farms to be connected to the national grid

In its annual report, the ministry stated five solar parks are having their construction works accelerated so they can be connected to the national grid as soon as possible. Together, the solar projects will boost Cambodia’s power supply by a total of 160 megawatts (mW) a year. With each province accounting for; Svay Reign (20mW), Pursat (30mW), Kampong Speu (20mW), Battambang (60mW) and Banteay Meanchey (30 mW). Next year, according to the ministry, the country will launch another 60 mW in Kampong Chnang and 60 mW solar farm in Pursat provinces, generating 120 mW when combined. Actions taken by the government have aimed to diversify power sources within the country because power demands have notably increased in recent years from investment activities, especially in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

Myanmar to increase renewable energy sources

Myanmar is trying to increase the content of renewable energy sources in tapping all available energy sources to generate electricity, said Union Minister for Electricity and Energy Win Khaing. As the country is blessed with solar energy, wind power and other renewable energy sources, a 40-megawatt solar power plant has been built in Minbu and the plant is distributing electricity through the national grid. The minister stressed the need to increase employing energy sources that have little impact on the environment. The government is trying to generate electricity covering the whole country by 2030. In a three-year period from 2016-2017 fiscal year to 2018-2019 FY, over 11,000 kilowatt hours of hydropower electricity and around 9,000 kilowatt hours of electricity from natural gas were produced on a yearly basis, the Central Statistics Organization quoted the statement issued by the Ministry of Electricity and Energy.

Firm completes purchase of solar project in Banteay Meanchey

Thailand-based energy company B Grimm Power Plc’s wholly-owned subsidiary, B Grimm Solar Power 1, has completed its acquisition of Cambodia’s Ray Power Supply Co Ltd. “[Ray Power] would like to update the progress [of the transaction]. The share transfer has officially completed and approval from relevant authorities has been granted,” it said in a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The company announced late last year that B Grimm Solar Power 1 entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire all the shares of Ray Power for a total consideration of $300,000. Ministry of Mines and Energy spokesman and director-general of the ministry’s General Department of Energy Victor Jona previously told The Post that the ground-mounted solar power system will cover about 40ha of land in Banteay Meanchey province’s Sisophon town.

Thailand’s PTT to set up AIoT smart grid

Singapore-based Envision Digital International has been tapped to develop the first smart grid for Thailand’s major energy company, PTT Public Company (PTT), which contributes to approximately 16% of the country’s GDP. The contract involves developing an AIoT smart grid at Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), powered by Envision Digital’s AIoT operating system EnOS. By integrating floating solar panels, rooftop solar panels, energy storage system, and electric charging stations in the campus with Envision’s Enlight and Ensight digital analytics software, the smart grid project will help PTT to achieve its 2020 strategic objective: Zero increase of absolute emission growth rate. The contract follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two companies in April 2019 to work together on multiple initiatives around new energy and digital transformation.

Vietnam Expands its Solar Energy Capabilities

Solar energy in Vietnam is showing highly after periods of shuttling from an extreme to another, with the state often looking as if it was reverting to coal and on other occasions as if it was to make investments on renewable energy. Vietnam had exceeded Malaysia and Thailand by the close of last year by hitting Southeast Asia’s most significant installed solar electricity capacity of 44 percent, according to statistics by the energy consulting service seller firm WoodMackenzie. The statistics show Vietnam’s seriousness concerning solar energy, a subject that has brought discussion for years. The advocates of solar power were motivated to see the state offer high tariff feed (FIT), a German pioneered fee to let solar panel users sell electricity to the grid. The FIT contributed to pushing Vietnam to a solar power capacity of 5.5 gigawatts last year.