Clean Energy Accounts for over 62 pct of Energy Consumption in Cambodia: Minister
Photo taken on Dec. 16, 2018 shows the Lower Sesan II Hydropower Station in Stung Treng Province, Cambodia. Photo: Xinhua
- By Xinhua News Agency
- November 22, 2023 10:50 AM
PHNOM PENH -- Renewable or clean energy used in Cambodia has accounted for more than 62 percent of the country's total consumption, Minister of Mines and Energy Keo Rattanak said on Tuesday.
Renewable energy is energy that comes from sources such as hydropower, solar energy and biomass energy. Most of renewable energy in the Southeast Asian country comes from Chinese-invested hydropower dams.
Speaking at a forum on "Mine and Energy Policy in Cambodia", Rattanak said a number of countries have recognized Cambodia for its great achievements in shifting from reliance on fossil fuels to renewable energy.
He added that the principle of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is that all member states should use 35 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2030.
"But for Cambodia, as of 2022, we had used more than 62 percent of clean energy," Rattanak said. "Over 40 percent of our clean energy comes from hydropower plants, more than 10 percent from solar power, and the rest from biomass power and import from neighboring Laos."
The minister said Cambodia currently is capable of producing energy of about 4,000 megawatts per year, but its annual consumption is about 2,400 megawatts only, so the kingdom is considering exporting its energy to countries in the region in the future.
As of last year, 98.27 percent of the total 14,168 villages in Cambodia have access to electricity, he said.
