War-torn Myanmar embraces solar to tackle power crisis

Home installations have surged from a few hundred in 2019 to around 300,000

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When Thailand cut power supply to Myanmar across its western border in 2025, it intended to curb online scam centres linked to regional networks trafficking hundreds of thousands of people.

However, the move also hit the wider community, pushing hospitals and some offices to install solar panels, said Mr Zaw, a rescue worker in Myawaddy town just across the Thai border. Homes, too, made the switch.

“Three out of four people now rely on solar panels, with businesses using multiple panels,” said Mr Zaw, who did not want to disclose his full name, fearing retribution.

Myanmar’s electricity supply has deteriorated since the 2021 military coup and ensuing civil war, exposing millions to chronic blackouts, with a cash-strapped government hit by Western sanctions unable to maintain power infrastructure.

The World Bank estimated that the country’s operating power capacity plunged to 2015 levels in 2024, describing electricity supply in conflict-affected areas as “catastrophic”.

Chinese firms have helped fill the gap, supplying cheap solar panels.

Light intensity data - a proxy for economic activity and electricity access - analysed by the United Nations revealed an average 8 per cent annual decline after the 2021 coup.

The drop is largely due to a shortage of natural gas, Myanmar’s main generation fuel, as domestic production has declined and the government has halted imports of liquefied natural gas due to a foreign exchange shortage, said the World Bank in a June 2024 report.