Cambodia: Solar sector increasingly attractive: Minister

• Jan 24, 2019

With the Kingdom’s largest solar energy project due to come online this year in Kampong Speu province, the local solar sector is luring an increasing number of investors every year, the Minister of Mines and Energy said.

Minister Suy Sem yesterday said that Kampong Speu’s 60-megawatt solar farm, being built with an investment of $60 million, will be ready by the end of the year, as originally planned.

“Everything is going according to plan, and the plant should be ready in time,” Mr Sem said, adding that the government welcomes investment on renewables to increase the country’s capacity to generate power.

The minister’s comment follows an announcement by Huaneng Group earlier this week unveiling plans for a solar energy project in Cambodia.

During Prime Minister’s Hun Sen official visit to Beijing this week, Huaneng Group’s CEO Shu Yinbiao told him that the company plans to invest in Cambodia’s solar sector, according to a post on Mr Hun Sen’s Facebook page.

The post mentions that the Huaneng Group is the same company that built the Lower Sesan II, a 400 MW dam in Stung Treng province that started operations in December.

A report from the Ministry of Mines and Energy shows that Cambodia is on track to increase its electricity output by 16.12 percent this year, reaching 2,870 MW.

Government’s spokesman Pay Siphan said, “Having more investment in the energy sector is important for our economy because it contributes to reducing electricity fees,” and added that “the government aims to give access to cheap and reliable energy to all citizens.”

A 10 MW solar farm is already operational in Svay Rieng province’s Bavet city.

Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50571757/solar-sector-increasingly-attractive-minister/