CHEAP SOLAR PANELS FROM CHINA
To combat the power crisis, households and businesses are embracing solar, according to interviews with a dozen residents, business owners and panel and battery sellers across the Southeast Asian country.
“Unlike most of Asia, where we’re seeing corporate demand drive solar growth, energy security concerns and fuel shortages are the key drivers in Myanmar,” said Linda Zeng, renewables analyst at Fitch Solutions unit BMI.
Solar panel imports from China, Myanmar’s largest supplier, more than doubled in the nine months through September to about US$100 million, according to Chinese customs data. Shipments have risen over eightfold from pre-pandemic levels, the data showed.
Shops, restaurants, and workshops seeking reliable power for lighting, refrigeration and electronic payments, as well as water kiosks, clinics, and schools increasingly use small solar systems, said an official from an international development agency working in Myanmar.
“I have about 10 refrigerators. The electricity here is not regular, so I had to use solar panels,” said an ice cream seller from the ancient city of Mawlamyine, who declined to be named due to fear of retribution.
Household solar installations have surged from a few hundred in 2019 to roughly 300,000 in 2025, as users switch from diesel generators to solar panels with storage, said Ken Pyi Wa Tun, chairman of Parami Energy, which sells solar panels and diesel generators in Myanmar.
“A household solar-plus-battery-plus-inverter can be acquired for under US$1,000 and power essentials, run for four to five hours and power 2 AC units,” Ken Pyi Wa Tun said.
While that is too expensive for most homes, it is cheaper than the roughly US$7,000 for a small diesel generator, plus fuel costs of US$50 to US$100 per week, he said, predicting solar could potentially power 2 million to 2.5 million Myanmar households.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/myanmar-solar-energy-power-crisis-5466896
