Cambodia to expand renewables capacity under Power Development Plan

The country may need $9.1b to support the development plan.

Cambodia targets to ramp up its renewable energy capacity under the Power Development Plan 2022 to 2040, with the Ministry of Mines and Energy estimating a $9.1b investment needed to meet the goals.

In a report, BMI Country Risks & Industry Analysis noted that under the plan, Cambodia plans to increase its solar power capacity to 1,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030 and 3,155MW by 2040.

In line with this, the country approved four solar projects in April with a total of 350MW which included the 150MW project in Pursat, 80MW in Prey Veng, 60MW in Kampong Chhnang, and 60MW in Svay Rieng.

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Of the $9.1b estimated investments, $2.5b has already been allocated for ongoing projects until 2025, whilst the remaining $6.6b will be allotted to hydropower, solar, battery energy storage, natural gas, and biomass from 2026.

“We believe that this will present significant upsides to the market's expansion of renewables, with more policy and regulatory support for the sector to follow. We highlight that while natural gas is included in the PDP, the power type has yet to emerge in the market, and we forecast that to remain so given the current lack of gas-fired power projects in development,” BMI said.