UK-based company DWR Offshore was awarded a £1m grant from the UK Energy Catalyst Round 7 Fund for a new 200kW renewable energy pilot project in Myanmar last month, the company’s co-founder James Diddams told Myanmar Energy Monitor. 

The project will generate clean baseload power using both solar and instream tidal (run-of-river) resources. It is expected to kick off in March with a six-month detailed engineering study period. Project implementation is then expected to take 12 months. 

DWR has already completed scale model testing for its mini-grid power plant model in the UK, but the Myanmar project will be the first full-scale pilot generating power for remote communities.  

Local Royal Marine Engineering and the Spectrum Sustainable Development Knowledge Network will partner with DWR. The former is to provide power plant fabrication services, while the latter is to advise on the energy sector in Myanmar and ways to enhance the social inclusion element of the project.

Royal Marine offers a variety of engineering services, mainly to companies in the oil and gas sector. It also holds a minor stake in the A-5 offshore block operated by Chevron.

Spectrum is an NGO aimed at connecting companies, the government and public actors. It aims to facilitate multi-stakeholder engagement on environmental, resource management and sustainability issues.

Sanda Hotels will also play a role in the project, assisting with commercialisation, logistics and ministerial support.

Diddams also said that DWR will aim to use locally sourced materials for construction and local labour as much as possible.

The completed project will undergo a four- to five-month period of demonstration and study as the company determines whether and how to scale up the venture. 

In terms of future plans, DWR is primarily interested in providing its technology to existing developers and developing its own mini-grids to power remote communities in Myanmar. The company is also exploring the possibility of developing projects for ecofriendly luxury resorts, such as those in the Myeik archipelago, which are seeking alternatives to diesel generators.  

In July 2019, the company pitched its project to Myanmar companies at the UK Energy Catalyst Mission hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce in Yangon. 

In a newsletter, the chamber indicated that it will continue to provide DWR with administrative support as the company establishes itself in Myanmar.

Founded by Diddams and Tim Wood in 2017, DWR Offshore has been operating on a consulting basis, providing support to developers working on power projects using wind, wave, tidal and ocean thermal energy conversion sources. This will be DWR’s first power plant project. 

The Energy Catalyst Round 7 Fund is a £22m grant programme run by Innovate UK. It was designed to support green technological solutions aimed at ending energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.