28 August 2013: The most recent newsletter of the Energy and Environment Partnership Programme with the Mekong Region (EEP Mekong) highlights solar energy projects co-funded by EEP Mekong in Cambodia, which have created jobs, improved health and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

The newsletter explains that only 26 percent of Cambodian households are connected to the national electricity grid, with others receiving power from car batteries or diesel-powered mini-grids, and that many households are lit using kerosene lanterns. The first project highlighted in the newsletter aimed to establish a market for solar lanterns and solar home systems in rural Cambodia. The project focused on training of five local technicians in installing the systems and of 200 entrepreneurs in the sale of these systems. Using a profit-sharing model that allowed for very low up-front costs for the entrepreneurs, and with micro-financing provided by a local NGO, the project sold 5,000 solar lights,100 solar home systems, and 8kW of solar photovoltaic panels. The newsletter says this is evidence that there is a market for solar power in rural Cambodia.

The second project installed a solar-powered water system and solar battery charging station in rural Cambodia. The battery charging station helped reduce the need for using a diesel generator to charge the car batteries used by most households for electricity, and also created a small number of jobs for people to transport and charge the batteries for homeowners. The solar water pump is providing clean water to the town school and surrounding households, improving health.

The EEP Mekong is funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Nordic Development Fund. It aims at supporting wider provision and use of renewable energy and combating climate change in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam. [EEP Mekong Newsletter]