Cambodia reaches 63% clean energy share, up from near-zero fossil dependence three decades ago

Summary

Cambodia's Minister of Mines and Energy Keo Rottanak announced on June 28, 2026, that over 63% of the country's electricity now comes from clean sources, a transformation from near-total fossil fuel dependence in the early 1990s. The shift was driven by large-scale hydropower on the Mekong basin, rapidly expanded rooftop solar and biomass generation. Several projects approved in early 2026 are expected to push the share to roughly 67% by end-year, and the government targets 70% by 2030, a level that exceeds the ASEAN regional goal of 35% renewable energy by that date. Installed capacity reached nearly 6,000 MW by end-2025, up 14.4% year on year.

The split

Cambodia's government and state media present this as a national success story and a model for lower-income Southeast Asian nations. Environmental groups and independent analysts are more cautious: the dominant clean-energy source is large dam hydropower, which has drawn sustained criticism from communities along the Mekong and from downstream countries including Vietnam and Thailand that say the dams alter water flow and fish migration. Solar and biomass are growing but from a small base. The 63% headline figure also excludes the roughly 15% of electricity Cambodia imports from Vietnam, Thailand and Laos, most of it generated by coal or gas plants.

By the numbers

• 63%, Cambodia's current clean energy share of domestic electricity generation.
• 70%, Cambodia's 2030 clean energy target.
• 35%, the ASEAN regional 2030 renewable energy target (Cambodia tracking nearly twice this).
• 6,000 MW, approximate installed capacity as of end-2025 (up 14.4% year on year).
• 67%, projected 2026 year-end share after newly approved projects are commissioned.
• 3 decades, the transition period from near-total fossil fuel dependence to 63% clean.

Why it matters

Cambodia's trajectory is one of the fastest clean energy transitions in Southeast Asia for a country at its income level, offering a data point for the debate about whether developing economies can industrialise and decarbonise simultaneously. The dominant role of hydropower complicates the picture, since large dams have environmental and geopolitical costs along the transboundary Mekong that affect Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia's cross-border relationships within ASEAN. The expansion of grid-scale solar provides a more replicable model for the region's smaller economies.

What to watch

• Whether Cambodia meets the 67% year-end target as newly approved solar projects come online.
• Progress on Cambodia's participation in the ASEAN Power Grid, which would allow clean energy export revenue.
• Environmental assessments of new hydropower concessions and pressure from downstream Mekong states.
• Whether the 70% 2030 target is maintained if economic growth drives a rapid increase in total electricity demand.