Cambodia's grid-scale solar capacity has already exceeded its 2030 and 2035 targets under a master plan for the power sector, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis said on Wednesday.
THe government has put solar power at the center of policies to meet rising electricity demand and achieve climate-related targets, the think tank said.
Solar's growth is transforming the country's electricity system faster than planned, IEEFA notes, but concerns about grid reliability and cost impacts are now resulting in policy barriers for rooftop solar installations.
Garment manufacturers and exporters were recently successful in ending an expensive capacity payment system for rooftop solar, but a replacement scheme has also proven a barrier to adoption of photovoltaic energy.
Electricity tariffs could rise in 2027 due as the country's first LNG-to-power project comes online, increasing the carbon intensity of the grid.
This would make it necessary for companies in Cambodia to speed up deployment of rooftop solar, which would be helped by a mechanism to allow the state-owned utility to buy surplus power generated and avoid use of higher cost LNG when possible, IEEFA said.
The government has updated its Nationally Determined Contribution which says that utility-scale solar is integral to ending dependence on fossil fuels, cutting emissions and attaining 72% to 80% zero emission power by 2035.
The Mines and Energy Ministry in Oct. 2025 said solar powr was key to its goal of achieving 70% renewable energy capacity by 2030. The country has also joined the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative that has advocated for a global shift away from fossil fuels through the use of renewables.
Cambodia's Power Development Master Plan 2022-2040 predicted 705 megawatts of solar by 2025, 1 gigawatt by 2030 and 1.3 GW by 2035. The country has already exceeded all three with 1.5 GW capacity in 2025.
The country now produces a tenth of its power with solar, with the expansion having been driven more by utility-scale projects rather than rooftop.
Capacity is expected to grow by another 400 megawatts in 2026, IEEFA said while the commissioning of Southeast Asia's largest solar facility, the Chheu Tom Solar Complex in March this year, could add another 930 MW.
Cambodia's imports of solar panels from China indicate further additions that put 2040 PDP targets within reach. Many of these have not yet been installed, IEEFA said.