Starting today Cambodia celebrates its achievements in adopting renewable energy with a series of events as part of Clean Energy Week 2019.
Clean Energy Week 2019, held on Nov 1-7, is Cambodia’s biggest convention on clean energy with more than 30 events taking place across the capital.
Students, energy developers, energy experts, and property developers are expected to participate, visiting projects across Phnom Penh to experience first-hand the latest developments in the sector.
Participants will visit a sustainable charcoal factory run Khmer Green Charcoal that aims to alleviate poverty and combat deforestation.
ATEC Biodigesters will visit kitchens around the city to advise on creating clean cooking gas from waste and how this helps minimise the environmental impact.
Participants can also visit the facilities of local firm Ecosun to learn about their products and services bringing electricity to rural communities.
Organisers of the event are collaborating with Factory Films and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to bring a screening of the documentary series ‘Our Planet’, showing an episode that takes a look at large-scale hydropower projects in the Mekong and explores alternatives to hydropower.
Similarly, Oxfam, Cambodian Volunteers for Society and NGO Forum will lead a panel discussion on alternatives to hydropower.
An event at Impact Hub Phnom Penh will bring together innovators and entrepreneurs to discuss blockchan, artificial intelligence and green bonds, with a debate run by the IFL Debate Club on whether Cambodia should ban fossil fuels.
There will also be more than 20 university and high school workshops, as well as a competition for high school students to give them a glimpse into what a career in clean energy looks like.
The government this year announced a shift in energy policy, prioritising clean energy to tackle power shortages. As a result of this new drive, two large solar farms and an 80-megawatt wind project have recently been approved.
Furthermore, the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC) has come up with new tariffs to create opportunities in the solar sector. The solar photovoltaic (PV) tariff is based on the aggregate cost of all electricity sources in the national grid and is expected to help Cambodia achieve 100 percent electrification by 2030.
The government is working with the Asian Development Bank, Agence Française de Développement, United Nations Development Programme, and the Australian government to modernise and integrate renewable energy into the national grid.
