23-10-2023 (PHNOM PENH) Cambodia is planning to scale up its solar projects and increase electricity imports from neighboring countries through regional grid interconnections to tackle the volatility in hydropower output and meet the rising power demand, according to the country’s Energy Minister, Keo Rottanak.
Hydropower currently accounts for nearly half of Cambodia’s annual electricity consumption, but the increasing frequency of weather-related disruptions has made it essential to diversify the country’s fuel sources.
This year, Asia experienced a significant decline in hydropower output, the fastest rate in decades. Consequently, power regulators are grappling with unpredictable electricity demand and erratic weather conditions, leading to a greater reliance on fossil fuels.
“We are going to heavily rely on solar and some wind power to supplement what hydropower can provide. We want to leverage that with interconnections from Vietnam and Laos,” explained Energy Minister Keo Rottanak during an interview with Reuters at the Singapore International Energy Week on Monday.
Unlike other mid-sized Asian countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam, which have turned to coal or natural gas to meet their power demands, Cambodia has focused on utilizing its hydropower resources to replace fossil fuels over the past two decades.
While hydropower still plays a crucial role, the vulnerability of this energy source to climate change and global warming necessitates the integration of intermittent renewable energy, primarily solar power, to the maximum extent that the grid can accommodate.
In the coming years, Cambodia envisions hydropower continuing to be a central component of its energy mix, particularly through pumped hydro projects.
The minister announced that Cambodia will unveil a 1,000-megawatt pumped hydro project in two weeks. Additionally, he emphasized the importance of multilateral power exchange agreements to accelerate the energy transition in the region.
“It is time to move away from bilateral arrangements. We should focus on sub-regional and regional interconnectivity,” stated Keo Rottanak, highlighting Cambodia’s commitment to ensuring that leaders reexamine the concept of the ASEAN power grid.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10-member regional bloc, has been striving for decades to establish a regional grid to facilitate multilateral power trading. However, progress has been limited to bilateral agreements.
Keo Rottanak also emphasized the need for subsea cables for electricity transmission, drawing a parallel with the laying of submarine cables for internet connectivity.
