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Coupling innovations in everyday social and technological practices to close energy poverty delivers local sustainable development. Although case studies on the linkages between energy access and sustainable development had been far-reaching, we know very little about their interactions in everyday practices, such as cooking. A focus on access to renewable energy for everyday activities as cooking has substantial implications for the energy justice principles of equity, accessibility, and affordability. Energy justice underlines the necessity for all people to have access to energy services fairly. At the same time, one should ensure that these energy systems do not inflict damage upon the present and future generations. This paper used a Grounded Theory approach to show how an energy transition in everyday practices such as cooking can deliver just, local, sustainable development while emerging as a sociotechnical innovation in rural Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not only GSM, WCDMA but also CDMA technology can be used in Myanmar but GSM pre-dominates in the market. There are over million unique subscribers across the country in 2013. Power supply for telecom becomes main challenges in Myanmar where the electricity can not access in rural area. To minimize deficit of power, the government has set a target to covert some of tower sites to renewable solutions by 2015. This paper proposes the use of a PV, wind and diesel generator hybrid system with storage element in order to determine the optimal configuration of renewable energy in Myanmar. This paper discusses the development of a renewable energy sources (RES) that can be used for electric power supply of GSM base station site at any given time and considers the feasibility of developing Solar (photovoltaic)-Wind-Diesel hybrid power systems for supplying electricity to off-grid rural telecommunication. The Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER) was used to simulate and generate feasible solution through combinations of photovoltaic, Wind Turbines and Diesel Generator with a minimum levelised cost of electricity supply and to determine the technical feasibility of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Hydropower is currently the primary renewable energy source for Myanmar. However, hydropower projects can cause direct and indirect detrimental impacts on the livelihoods of populations. Social impacts of planned hydropower projects should therefore be assessed. In this paper, we report on the application of a Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) for evaluating social and human rights impacts of hydropower construction, operation and maintenance, and transportation of materials. Material and method: S-LCA is capable of assessing multiple social stressors and tracking different impact categories within potentially disturbed communities. Both direct and indirect interaction between stakeholders and social impacts at every stage of a project can be evaluated. An existing large-scale hydropower dam in the Ayeyarwady River, Shweli hydropower dam 1, is used in this paper as an example for analysis. Results: Results indicate the magnitude and intensity of social and human right impacts caused by the Shweli hydropower dam 1 in Myanmar. The dam gives rise to a series of negative impacts while offering little to no tangible benefits to local people and society. Overall, the most commonly held view expressed by stakeholders was that the dam did not offer the promised social and economic benefits. The weakest social performance was observed in the governance and socio-economic repercussion categories. Conclusion: A number of important socio-economic impacts are identified, offering useful insights to energy, ecosystem services, and land use policy makers. The results offer opportunities to examine potential impacts of forthcoming hydropower projects in the region and create long-term socio-economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ayeyarwady basin, one of Asia's largest transnational river basins, shared by Myanmar, China and India, has an immense theoretical hydropower potential of 45 GW. Currently hydropower projects with an approximate capacity of 33 GW are already in various stages of development. Projects include some of the world's largest and most controversial endeavours (e.g. Myitsone). Of these projects 6.4 GW are already installed in 187 hydropower projects (≥1 MW). Despite its huge relevance, the transnational Ayeyarwady basin still belongs to the less known basins, which is largely attributed to its small Chinese section. However, the current knowledge is limited to Myanmar's segment where a limited number of 16 projects exist. In contrast, there are a multitude of projects −174 (18 large and 156 small) - in the Chinese section, including the basins largest one (Daying-4: 875 MW). The combination of small and large projects makes the Chinese section one of the most dense (small) hydropower catchments worldwide. About half of the entire basin's hydropower output is exported to the energy starved Guangdong province (from both countries) and almost another quarter is used for energy intensive industries in the tiny Chinese section; hence currently only about 30% of the basin's generated (hydro-)electricity is used there for households, industry, etc. This results in a complex water-energy nexus that is complicated by a tangled geopolitical setting directly in the border region, where many projects are located. This paper describes that nexus based on Darrin Magee's powershed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The member countries of Southeast Asia have renewable energy sources that never run out like solar energy, wind, geothermal, hydropower, biomass, etc. Geographically, Southeast Asian countries are between two continents that have tropical and humid climate conditions in general, while only Myanmar has a subtropical climate because it is astronomically. This provides easier access to many renewable energy sources. The governments of ASEAN member countries have made several policies and promoted renewable energy to encourage individuals and industries to use renewable energy in the future. This study provides information on the status of renewable energy as a comprehensive substitute for fossils in Southeast Asian countries, which includes the potential for renewable energy in the region and the capacity of renewable energy currently available. The study also provides brief information on the potential of renewable energy, renewable energy targets, and challenges to energy demand in Southeast Asia. In addition, this paper provides several recommendations for renewable energy in Southeast Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combatting climate change necessitates a substantial global increase in renewable electricity capacity. Many low-income and lower-middle-income countries suffer from unfavorable green financing conditions. Fifteen of these countries possess substantial natural gas reserves. To overcome green financing constraints in such countries, we propose an integrated energy contract that awards a renewable energy project in parallel with an upstream natural gas project to interested energy companies. The state returns from the natural gas project provide a guarantee for renewable energy investments, reducing their associated risks. We conduct Monte Carlo simulations for each of the targeted countries after populating the input parameters for the upstream natural gas and renewable energy projects, including forecasting country-specific natural gas prices. When accounting for 10% of their existing natural gas reserves in the proposed contract, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Indonesia can achieve more than 60% of their 2030 renewable energy target capacity additions while countries with low access to electricity can significantly upscale their installed capacities. The guarantee mechanism provides protection levels exceeding 96% on renewable energy investments. The proposed contract enables the considered countries to increase their renewable energy capacities while inducing economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased use of renewable energy is imperative as a countermeasure to climate change. As with conventional electricity generation technologies, public acceptance of renewables is an important issue, and willingness to pay (WTP) is a widely used indicator to assess such public attitudes. Unfortunately, the literature to date mostly covers developed countries, with few WTP surveys in developing countries. Tackling climate change is an urgent issue for these developing countries; therefore, understanding of public attitudes toward renewables in developing countries is crucial. This study conducted the first survey on WTP for introducing renewable energy in Myanmar. Although Myanmar boasts abundant renewable energy resources, including solar power and biomass in addition to large-scale hydro plants, its resources are not being properly utilized to generate electricity. This study surveyed WTP for power generation by solar photovoltaics, small hydropower, and biomass facilities. The results showed the highest WTP for solar power (USD 1.92) with 10% share in the energy mix, and lower WTP for biomass and small hydropower electricity generations (USD 1.13 and USD 1.17, respectively). Careful public communication is thus crucial for expanding biomass and small-scale hydro power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, renewable energy utilization plays a key role in developing countries to fulfill the additional energy requirements of a country and reduce dependency on fossil fuels and traditional biomass consumption. As Myanmar has an agriculture-based economy and 48% of forest-cover (32.2 million hectares); biomass is one of the major renewable energy sources, contributing around 50% of total energy consumption. Therefore, the study aimed to highlight the available biomass sources and energy potential for the energy sector in Myanmar. In order to achieve the aim, the study collated the types, quantity and qualities of biomass resources, and energy utilization around Myanmar. Besides, the study synthesized and evaluated the energy potential of the major biomass resources coming from the agriculture sector, forest sector, livestock and poultry sector, and municipal sector. It was estimated that the total energy potential of the major biomass sources amounted to approximately 15.19 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2005 and 17.29 Mtoe in 2017, respectively. The unexploited biomass energy potential around the country was estimated to be nearly 50% higher than that of the projected biomass energy utilization during 2015–2019. Finally, the study concluded with recommendations to provide the future sustainable development of biomass energy in Myanmar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]