The third set of trainings has been successfully carried out in all partnering countries HEI‘s in October 2017. This time the focus has been on the continuation of more in depth energy modeling topics as well as energy economics and climate change mitigation. Again there have been more than 100 participants from the partnering HEI‘s with the largest group of highly interested participants in Myanmar from both the Yangon University (YU) as well as the host institution for this time Yangon Technological University (YTU). The trainings were carried out by 5 experts from both the Finland Futures Research Center (FFRC) as well as the Europa Universität Flensburg (EUF).
The first training took place at YTU in Myanmar from the 10th to the 12th of October. The training was followed by a stakeholder workshop on the 13th of October including participants from the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEP) discussing the possibilities of climate financing to develop a 100% renewable energy strategy for Myanmar. The trainings in Laos took place at the National University of Laos (NUOL) from the 16th to the 18th of October followed by a stakeholder workshop including participants from NUOL, two departments of the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), Electricite du Laos (EDL) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE). Similarly to Myanmar workshop the focus was on accessing international climate funds for the transition towards a 100% renewable energy System of Laos. The last Training took place at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia from 24th to 26th of October and was again followed by a stakeholder workshop on transition towards 100% renewables on the 27th of October.
In terms of energy modeling the trainings consisted of the theory to estimate electricity demands by using a bottom up approach. By that the participants were able to develop their own electricity consumption time series for e.g. small villages within an integrated group work. In connection to demand estimation the hourly modeling of electricity systems was introduced using an excel sheet based approach. The participants learned the necessary skills to be able to develop their own model for the next trainings as a group exercise. In addition the covered topics included the understanding of world energy markets for different energy sources as well as their influencing factors. Within the theory of climate change mitigation different strategies have been discussed as well as the external costs induced by ongoing climate change.
The facilitation of a one day stakeholder workshops with relevant energy sector stakeholders has been another focus in addition to the trainings. In each country a workshop was facilitated not only including academia but also representatives from ministries, utilities as well as NGO‘s. The workshops aimed to educate and discuss about the possibilities of climate funding as a funding source to develop strategies for 100% renewable energy systems. Therefore, the central focus was the introduction of an energy system powered by renewable energies together with its funding abilities under e.g. the German-British NAMA facility. Based on that, the suitability of the specific countries as well as the way forward have been discussed with the whole panel.
The next activities of the project include the Erasmus+ Cluster meetings in Yangon and Phnom Penh in November, and 8th International Conference on Science and Engineering in Yangon. Simultaneously, the consortium will hold an annual meeting to plan for future activities, substance and timing for 2018.
