A Case Study of Renewable Energy: Challenges and Potential Solutions

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A Case Study of Renewable Energy Development in Myanmar: Challenges and Potential Solutions
Renewable energy, often known as clean energy, comes from natural sources that are continuously being replenished. Renewable energy is rapidly taking dirty fossil fuels in the power sector, offering an advantage of reduced pollution. However, not all sources of renewable energy are environmentally friendly. As a new technology, renewable energy is harnessed and used for various reasons depending on availability and cost-effectiveness.
Myanmar, a small country in Asia, has one of the lowest electrification rates globally, with most inhabitants living without electricity despite having abundant solar and wind energy sources. These sources could ably generate electricity for the country, more so for the rural people, but they were stunted (Regents of the University of California). Being second in natural gas production in South East Asia, sanctions and inadequate investments by foreign companies impeded its efforts to realize its full potential in energy production. Moreover, the underdeveloped infrastructure and the worn-out power plants also played a role in the country's major setback.
The analysis further reveals that some of the other reasons why solar, wind, and biomass energy were regressing were hydropower contracts that were prone to problems, low levels of social acceptance and awareness of clean technologies, and absence of institutional policies for renewable energy. Myanmar also requires advanced technology, which was expensive and scarce at that time. Aside from economic and physical reasons, environmental issues also hindered the development of some energy sources like coal which contributed to the deterioration of the environment, including pollution.
With that going on and the country heading for a downfall, experts pointed out the crisis had also affected foreign investments and needed an immediate initiative to meet the country's energy demand. Under the business model Yoma MicroPower, Myanmar built solar-hybrid plants in a project from 2017 t...