Off-Grid Solar in Myanmar – Vast Opportunities in a Challenging Market

By Sascha Brandt, GOGLA Communication & Project Officer

Myanmar has one of the lowest electrification rates in Asia: Only one third of the population has access to the electricity grid. At the same time, Myanmar is “among the regions with very feasible potential for PV power generation”, The World Bank’s ESMAP program found in a 2017 analysis. Mobile phone connections have increased sharply since 2014 to over 40 million in a country of 52 million inhabitants where 70 percent of the population lives in rural areas. The opportunities for off-grid solar providers are thus immense – but so are the challenges.

Off-Grid Solar Companies Have Ambitious Plans for Myanmar

 SolarHome and Greenlight Planet are among the GOGLA members who have launched operations in Myanmar. SolarHome Asia recently announced it is currently installing 1,000 solar home systems per month. The Singapore-based company plans to invest over 5 million USD In the Myanmar market expecting to serve at least 40,000 households by the end of 2018.

Another GOGLA member with ambitious plans for the Southeast Asian nation is Greenlight Planet. “We entered the market through our partners and also launched our direct channel with support from UNCDF grant funding with an aim to test our business model and reach deep interiors of Myanmar and give the off-grid population lighting that they deserve”, Divya Arya, Asia Marketing Lead at Greenlight Planet says.

Greenlight Planet currently relies on the pay-as-you-go model as well as cash sales to reach customers in Myanmar. The firm has plans to expand to over 20 regions within the country.

Challenges for Off-Grid Solar Companies in Myanmar

While political and economic reforms have led to progress in Myanmar, challenges remain in a country which had lived under military rule for over 40 years.

According to Divya Arya, access and interactions with government officials for off-grid solar companies remain limited. She would welcome increased support from the government when it comes to quality standards and access to finance. Additional challenges include the roll-out of mobile payment systems and limited transport connectivity in remote areas.

Despite the hurdles, Divya strikes an optimistic note. “The off-grid solar market in Myanmar continues to grow phenomenally and has vast untapped potential.” The country’s government seems to increase its engagement as well - in partnership with the World Bank, it launched an initiative which aims to bring the benefits of off-grid electrification to 2 million people by 2021.


This article is part of a series of blog posts on the off-grid solar market in Asia in the run-up to the Global Off-Grid Solar Forum and Expo (22-24 January 2017 in Hong Kong). Organized by GOGLA and Lighting Global and supported by the World Bank's ESMAP program, the Forum and Expo is the world's premier off-grid solar event bringing together more than 500 off-grid solar professionals. Read more at www.offgridsolarforum.org.

Popular posts from this blog

Why Haiti is full of opportunity for off-grid energy companies

By Jean-François Péan, Senior Investment Manager with Bamboo Capital Partners and OGEF team member, and Stephanie Nsom, consulting energy specialist, World Bank Haiti is likely to attract more and more solar off-grid companies in 2020! Haiti’s growing energy needs combined with low electrification rates are creating unique opportunities for dynamic off-grid companies. Off-grid companies can benefit from an expanding consumer market and a comprehensive support infrastructure established by the Haitian Government, in close partnership with the World Bank and with funding support from the Clean Technology Fund. The USD 17.22 million Off-Grid Electricity Fund (OGEF) was launched in March 2019 with the goal of providing equity and debt financing and market development support to commercially viable businesses and enterprises that can provide modern energy services in rural and peri-urban areas of Haiti. OGEF is also setting up a Results-Based Financing (RBF) grant scheme for solar
Read more

Unlocking potential through access to energy – how Bboxx is leveraging technology and forging partnerships to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

Image
Bboxx exists to solve a major global problem: energy poverty. 840 million people across the globe currently live without electricity while a further 1 billion are connected to an unreliable and expensive electrical grid, significantly hindering economic growth. Access to clean, reliable and affordable energy is indispensable. Not only is it a basic right but it is also a stepping stone to further economic development. Driving impact though pioneering technology At Bboxx, we are proud to have positively impacted the lives of over 1 million people through access to clean, reliable and affordable electricity via our solar home systems (SHS). We have also just launched a campaign to celebrate this major achievement for the business. Our disruptive technology is at the heart of what we do. Bboxx would not have been able to achieve such scale over the last 10 years without it. Bboxx Pulse™, our comprehensive management platform, uses Internet of Things technology to remotely m
Read more

5 questions you should ask your off-grid solar panel supplier

Image
By OPES Solutions The off-grid solar module production only accounts for 1% of the global photovoltaic industry. The largest solar companies are not active in this field. It is too different from their standard production setup. This means that despite rapid growth in demand for these modules, specialized companies are essential for driving this segment towards a commodity market. On this journey, information exchange and standardization are key. The more you know about how your manufacturer thinks and works, and the more they know about your product and plans, the better the job can be done. This is achieved by asking your supplier the right questions. Ask about the production equipment, what it does and how much labor it saves. Ask about the capacity, though you can sometimes quickly estimate this for yourself by using, for example, the cells per minute in a stringer to make a calculation. 1.    How can you help me to have a better system? Share key information abou
Read more