Reports, technical briefs, articles, and curated external research on Myanmar's energy sector.
The at-a-glance version of Smart Power Myanmar and TFE Energy's study, distilling which of Myanmar's farming value chains — rice among them — yield the most economic value per unit of energy, so developers and investors know where energy access pays off first.
Read more →The complete study behind the summary, with the full method and findings — value-added-per-kilowatt-hour analysis across crops, processing techno-economics, geographic suitability, and the energy technologies and delivery models that fit each value chain.
Read more →A bilingual (English and Burmese) primer introducing Myanmar's energy sector — its structure, key institutions, and electrification challenges — written as an accessible starting point for anyone new to the sector.
Read more →An assessment, conducted by Delphos International, of the financing options and instruments needed to scale decentralised renewable energy mini-grids in Myanmar, examining how to mobilise capital and de-risk investment for the off-grid sector.
Read more →A summary of Roland Berger's assessment of Myanmar's decentralised energy market, examining the financial viability and investibility of mini-grids and forecasting the potential off-grid market to 2030 under different scenarios.
Read more →The full Roland Berger market assessment of Myanmar's decentralised energy sector, analysing mini-grid viability, investibility and grid-arrival de-risking, and projecting the potential mini-grid market to 2030 across a range of demand and policy scenarios.
Read more →A TFE Consulting study mapping rural electricity demand in Myanmar to help developers correctly size their mini-grids, analysing per-capita and total demand, village characteristics, and the role of anchor loads such as telecom towers.
Read more →An early Pact Myanmar field assessment of community-run diesel mini-grids across ten villages in the Magway Region, exploring villagers' needs and how their systems could be improved to support productive use and accelerate village development.
Read more →An Applied Energy Lab brief arguing that lenders should harness community-led Village Electrification Committees to accelerate energy access, drawing on the experiences of committees that have managed finance for off-grid electrification.
Read more →An Applied Energy Lab brief on rural energy consumption patterns in Myanmar, showing how better demand prediction and demand-side management help developers correctly size mini-grids and secure their long-term viability.
Read more →An Applied Energy Lab brief on converting diesel-powered rural businesses to mini-grid electricity, finding that conversions need tariff concessions and technical support to meaningfully raise plant utilisation and revenue.
Read more →An Applied Energy Lab brief on household appliance ownership in mini-grid villages, showing how responding to appliance demand can stimulate electricity consumption and grow revenue for mini-grid operators.
Read more →An Applied Energy Lab brief demonstrating that offering connection financing to rural customers helps unlock electricity demand and increases revenue for mini-grid developers.
Read more →Richard Harrison (Smart Power Myanmar) and Sam Duby (TFE Energy) discuss how decentralised renewable energy can unlock agricultural productivity in Myanmar — from integrated planning tools to real-world mini-grid deployments in farming communities. A joint Power for All podcast episode.
Read more →A case study of a cockle-farming village that switched from diesel generators to a solar mini-grid, enabling electric water pumps and fish-processing equipment and bringing piped water to 60% of residents — a clear illustration of the productive use of energy.
Argues that no country has developed without mass electricity access — citing Myanmar's roughly 56% electrification rate, the lowest in Asia, against Thailand's climb from 20% to 90% between 1976 and 1996 and the income growth that followed — to make the case for reliable, affordable power as the foundation of economic development.
Read more →With Myanmar around 54% electrified, some 5 million households — roughly 23.5 million people — still lack reliable power. This piece weighs how the National Electrification Plan's goal of universal access by 2030 can be met, and why electrification matters for household well-being and the post-COVID-19 recovery, not just big business.
Read more →A look at the landmark equipment-financing facility Smart Power Myanmar structured with local commercial banks, giving mini-grid developers the working capital they need to build sites at scale — an asset class these banks had never financed before.
Profiles of women engineers leading mini-grid development in Myanmar — including Dr. Soe Soe Ohn, Barani Aung, Roslyn (Wit Yi Toe) and Shwe Zin Ma — and how they overcome cultural and logistical barriers to expand rural energy access.
Read more →A Distributing Solar podcast episode with Richard Harrison on Myanmar's electrification challenge and Smart Power Myanmar's approach to accelerating energy access through mini-grids, research and innovative financing.
Read more →The second part of a Q&A with Smart Power Myanmar CEO Richard Harrison, covering financing and demand challenges for mini-grid developers, recent market growth and regulation, and the impact of COVID-19 on the off-grid sector.
Read more →A hand-picked selection of the most authoritative research from our sector, authored by peer organisations and researchers.
A study by the Tyndall Centre, Mercy Corps and the Renewable Energy Association of Myanmar mapping the rice and rice-husk value chains in Labutta, identifying the barriers and opportunities for linking agricultural livelihoods with energy access.
Read more →An Asia Foundation report by Dr. Peter du Pont mapping how authority over energy is divided between Myanmar's national and subnational (state and region) governments, and what that fragmented governance means for the pace of electrification.
Read more →The Asian Development Bank's practical guidebook sharing lessons from 12 pilot mini-grid systems, covering community participation and the solar, hydro and biomass technologies suited to Myanmar — written for government officials, developers and investors.
Read more →A World Bank–commissioned note by Chris Greacen presenting a SWOT analysis and scale-up roadmap for mini-grids within Myanmar's National Electrification Plan, which targets universal electricity access by 2030.
Read more →A World Bank assessment of how Myanmar — among the world's lowest in per-capita energy use, with two-thirds of the population off the grid — can reach universal access by 2030, weighing grid extension against mini-grids and off-grid systems for hard-to-reach areas.
Read more →A CSIS report by Rachel Posner Ross on the role distributed energy systems can play in electrifying Myanmar, one of Asia's least-electrified countries, where most rural households still rely on firewood and kerosene.
Read more →