Myanmar needs to look to renewables to fuel increasing demand
Temples in Myanmar (Burma) (source: flickr/ eGuide Travel, creative commons)
Francisco Rojas
17 Sep 2014
Myanmar Vice-President Nyan Htun has raised concerns about energy consumption and the over dependance on fossil fuels despite the abundant renewable potential in the country.
Myanmar faces an important challenge in the near future. Economic growth in the region might be dampened by the rising costs of fossil fuels that generate the majority of the electricity in the country, making it less competitive than its neighbours.
According to local news, during the National Energy Management Committee meeting in Naypyidaw on Tuesday, Myanmar Vice-President Nyan Htun has raised concerns about energy consumption in the country and pointed out that they still derive 76 percent of its energy from non-renewable resources such as wood and charcoal.
This is a considerable problem yet, the same source states that a United Nations Development Project report in May 2013 identified a large potential of commercial-scale renewable energy, such as hydroelectricity, wind energy, biofuels and geothermal energy, which has yet not been tapped into.
As reported by ThinkGeoEnergy last year, Emerging Markets Energy Pte Ltd. from Singapore is planning to conduct a feasibility study for the development of geothermal power plants in the country.
It would be greatly beneficial, both for the economy, the region and the environment to see a surge in the development of renewables such as geothermal in the region.
Source: DVB Website
