MYANMAR’S government has invested heavily in hydropower electricity production by building a large network of power plants, which are widely considered to be environmentally friendly and an excellent source of renewable energy.

The government has said that it hopes to supply the entire nation’s electricity needs through hydropower within 30 years. To achieve this goal it is building a number of small-, medium- and large-scale plants.

Figures from the Ministry of Electric Power 1, which is responsible for production of electricity, indicate that hydropower electricity production will have tripled within three years, assuming projects are completed on time, which is unlikely.

With 16 major projects underway and 11 more planned, Myanmar’s government is putting its hopes on this water-based electricity generation, most of which comes from upper Myanmar.

Current hydropower electricity production stands at 745.68 megawatts (MW), some 43 percent of total electricity production. Natural gas driven turbines produce another 561MW or 32.5pc; coal-fired generators contribute 332.9MW or 19pc; and diesel generators contribute the final 5pc, about 85.62MW.

However, government figures show an additional 2034.2MW are expected to come online at the end of 2009 when several hydropower plants should be finished. A total of 13 plants are included in this list and range from 2.2 to 790MW in capacity.

By the end of 2007 about 686MW from four projects should become available for the national grid, while 247MW will theoretically come online in 2008 but 2009 is expected to show a considerable increase – with more than 1100MW expected.

In addition to the projects intended to be operational by the end of 2009, another 11 plants are slated for the future.

These projects are expected to generate up to 15,725MW and should be finished by 2015.

According to a 1995 World Bank estimate, Myanmar can potentially produce 108,000MW from hydropower from 266 sites. Of these locations, a total of 39,720MW in capacity have been surveyed and planned by the ministry, mostly in the upper states.

But because Myanmar is not in a position to exploit all of it’s hydropower resources it has signed joint ventures with neighbouring countries like Thailand, China and Bangladesh to export this power.

In July 1997, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was singed between Thailand and Myanmar for the purchase of 1500MW of electricity from Myanmar by 2010.

Then in May 2005, another MoU was signed to jointly develop hydropower projects on the Thanlwin and Tanintharyi River basins.

An additional two agreements were signed with the Chinese State Power Corporation to develop two hydropower stations near the Chinese-Myanmar border.

Most recently, Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in July this year to work together on several hydropower projects in Rakhine State. This power would be exported to Bangladesh when the plants are completed.

These joint venture projects will not only increase Myanmar’s foreign currency earnings but will also pump power into the national grid. All the joint ventures to date include clauses that 10 to 15pc of all electricity produced go to Myanmar.