Electricity production
Hydropower dams
New body to address Sesan dam concerns
Cambodia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy has created a committee to resolve compensation and resettlement issues for 1,000 families displaced by the controversial Lower Sesan II hydropower dam in Stung Treng province. Keep reading ...
Activists claim arrests by Lao authorities at dam site
Two Cambodian activists say they were briefly detained by authorities in Laos on 24 January after sneaking across the border to take photographs of the planned site of the Don Sahong hydropower dam, which regional governments and environmentalists fear could cut into critical fish stocks downstream. Chum ...
Dammed if they don’t: Mekong countries face crucial choice
In the wake of COP 21 and a new global climate accord, now is the time for the countries of the Lower Mekong Basin to redouble their efforts to protect the rice bowl of Southeast Asia. This region is among the world’s most vulnerable to climate ...
'No dodging' EIA on water plan
The development of two controversial water diversion projects would comply with an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study requirements, the Thai government insists. Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Gen Chatchai Sarikulya said on 12 January the government wants to study the prospects of diverting water from rivers forming a ...
Thai Government set to divert water from key rivers
The Thai government plans to divert water from rivers which form natural boundaries with Thailand’s neighbours into major dams in a long-term measure to battle drought. Suphot Tovichakchaikul, chief of the Department of Water Resources, said on 11 January that aside from the country’s local sources, water ...
Administrative court rules in favour of Egat over Xayaburi Dam
Thailand’s Administrative Court on 25 December dismissed complaints over the Xayaburi Dam against five state agencies. However, the 37 plaintiffs, from eight Mekong provinces, say they will appeal further. The judge, who read the verdict, said the defendants had fully complied with their obligation according to the law, ...
Koh Kong dam to energise local supply
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen inaugurated the new 246-megawatt Stung Tatai hydropower plant in Koh Kong on 23 December, saying that the dam will add to locally generated power and help bring down the cost of electricity. Built by the China National Heavy Machinery Corporation for ...
Government green light for power purchase from Laos
The Thai government approved a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 21 December to purchase electricity from the Nam Thuen 1 hydropower project in Laos. The draft MoU was endorsed by the National Energy Policy Committee chaired by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, which will see Thailand ...
Experts call for dam review to consider earthquake risks
If there is one place most ill-equipped for a mega hydropower dam holding back cascades of water, it might very well be along a fault line. Yet China’s Myitsone project is slated for such a quake-prone site not far from the Sagaing Fault. In addition to ...
NGOs condemn dam power at COP21
Major hydropower projects like the large-scale dams under way in Cambodia’s waterways are a “false solution” to climate change, according to a global coalition of 300 NGOs who are calling on parties at UN climate talks in Paris (COP21) to bar such schemes from climate ...