As the World Moves to Renewable Energy, Myanmar Will Follow

As the World Moves to Renewable Energy, Myanmar Will Follow

The government has been pushing plans for coal-fired power plants to address
Myanmar's great need for electricity.

Renewable energy expert Hans-Josef Fell talks about how Myanmar can develop
its energy plan. Fell is a former parliamentarian in Germany and the current
president of the Berlin-based Energy Watch Group.

The Myanmar government has been proposing the use of coal-fired power plants
but many people disagree with this option. What do you think?

Hans-Josef Fell: Strategies employing fossil energies like coal will lead to
public or private bankruptcy. Look at Germany. Ten years ago, the German
utilities invested in new coal power stations. Today, these coal power
stations have only income deficits. It is a high burden for the utilities
and they are nearly bankrupt because they overlooked how cheap renewable
energy had become. Millions of German people invested in renewables, and the
coal power stations cannot sell electricity at prices high enough to profit.
The same will happen in Myanmar. Solar and wind are cheap and many people
will invest. Myanmar should cancel the plans for coal-fired power stations
and invest directly into renewables. That will bring employment and
development, and fight poverty. This could happen quickly and Myanmar needs
more electricity quickly.

Is there a particular renewable energy that is cheap to implement or are you
referring to all renewable energy sources across the board?

Solar and wind are now the cheapest sources in the world. Bioenergy and
geothermal are not so cheap. Hydropower as a traditional energy is also
cheap. So, a mix of renewables - where we combine bioenergy and geothermal
as a storable energy along with wind and sun - can extend the use of
bioenergy and hydropower. Even with investment into storage systems, hydro
pump power, batteries and power; the mix of renewables - because of cheap
solar and wind - bring a whole system that is 100 percent renewable and is
cheaper than a base-loaded system with coal, nuclear, oil and natural gas.
Fossil and nuclear are too expensive.

Are all these renewables practices 'clean energy?' How do you define clean
energy?

We must look at the details. In many politicians' papers, we see clean
energy defined as nuclear, clean coal, natural gas and more. This is not
clean energy. We cannot make coal clean. Coal emits a lot during mining; it
pollutes the water. It is impossible to make clean coal and it is too
expensive. Even clean coal power stations are not competitive because when
you add carbon capture storage - to remove carbon from the chimneys of the
coal power station - it is too expensive. It's double the price. How will it
compete with solar and wind? It is impossible; solar and wind are so cheap.

Natural gas pollutes the atmosphere and is not a good option for climate
protection. Nuclear energy is not free from carbon or radioactivity.
Radioactivity pollutes big areas in Fukushima in Japan, Chernobyl in Ukraine
and Russia, and other areas where uranium is mined. Uranium and nuclear
power are not clean. Radioactivity is a big threat for the world. Only
renewable energies - wind, solar, bioenergy when it is produced sustainably,
small hydropower dams, geothermal, wave and tidal energy - are clean.

When Germany began implementing renewable energy projects, did the
government offer subsidies?

Today, solar energy is the cheapest option, even for the poorest places in
the world. Look at Bangladesh. With microcredit, now two million people
have light at night from solar power and batteries. This was impossible with
coal or nuclear power. Fifteen years ago, renewable solar was expensive. So,
we organized in the German Parliament and passed a law that guaranteed all
renewable energy investors a return on their investment. This law led to
tremendous growth, innovation, new technologies, mass production and huge
factories. Now, 15 years later, it is the cheapest energy. One big nation
had to make renewables cheap and then they could spread around the world and
aid in climate protection. We are at the point where we can do this all over
the world.

What was your impression from the roundtable discussion on energy in
Naypyitaw on July 12?

There was not a good acknowledgment in the ministry of the benefits of
renewables. They believe it will be expensive, but it isn't. They think it
will lead to blackouts. But it won't. When we combined technologies in
Germany, blackouts decreased with the increase of solar and wind to the
grid. Grid operators can manage it, and they do.

But they listened well to new findings around the world. The world is
changing. And I think this roundtable had a positive impact. Perhaps in a
few months, Myanmar will propose a new energy strategy.

What kind of support will Myanmar need?

Many things are needed. It needs a feed-in tariff law, not a tendering law,
for investment in renewable energies. A feed-in tariff law will aid small
farms and individuals, as well as big utility companies. In a tendering
system, only big finance can partake and we lose the movement in rural areas
as far as private investment in renewables.

Education and research are also necessary. Also, Myanmar has a highly
subsidized system. A lot of tax money goes to lowering the price of
electricity from coal and gas and big dams. This is wrong. That money is
needed for education, infrastructure and more. That money shouldn't
subsidize pollution. It should create affordable, renewable energy for the
people. Over time, renewables will bring profits and benefits to the public,
including a growing economy and employment. Myanmar can fight for prosperity
with renewable energies.

Currently, the government's energy policymakers don't seem interested in
renewables. What is your advice to them?

I believe that the policymakers in Myanmar are not stupid. When they look
around, they will see the benefits and that renewables are the cheapest
option in China, the US, the EU, and South America. Everywhere is moving
toward renewable energy. Myanmar will follow this strategy.

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Link to Original Article:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/in-person/interview/world-moves-renewable-energy-m
yanmar-will-follow.html

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com