Energy
Electricity production
China says will help manage Mekong as report warns of dam danger
China on Thursday said it was helping its downstream neighbors cope with a prolonged drought by releasing more water from its dams on the Mekong River, adding it would consider sharing information on hydrology to provide further assistance in the future. The statement came as a ...
Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Kay Johnson
Laos to Experience Electricity Shortage During Hot Season
Electricity generation will not be sufficient to supply all areas in Laos during times of peak consumption from March to June, according to authorities, who are urging the public to cut energy usage during this period. The Ministry of Energy and Mines has announced that less ...
Taejun Kang
Thais Living Along Mekong Struggle from Drought, Effects of Dams
Dam operations upstream combined with a drought have caused a severe drop in water levels along the Mekong River, on which tens of millions of people rely for their livelihoods through fishing or farming, say Thais who live by the banks of the great waterway. BenarNews ...
Nontarat Phaicharoen
Deeper look into ecological costs of coal-fired power in Mekong Delta needed: expert
Ecological expert Nguyễn Hữu Thiện speaks to Nông Nghiệp Việt Nam (Việt Nam’s Agriculture) newspaper on the need for clearer environmental regulations for thermopower plants in the Mekong Delta to reduce risks to the region’s aquatic resources What are the notable characteristics of the Mekong Delta’s fish resources? The ...
Damming the Lower Mekong, Devastating the Ways and Means of Life
The water is so clear on the Mekong River in northeastern Thailand that the sunlight pierces through to the riverbed, transforming the waterway into a glinting, empty aquarium. It is beautiful but it means death. At this time of year in Thailand, this stretch of the ...
Hannah Beech
Hydropower dams cool rivers in the Mekong River basin, satellites show
Hydropower dams, which use flowing water to turn a series of turbines to generate electricity, provide a source of energy that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels. But they also disrupt the flow of rivers, and impact the fish and people that live there. Scientists have been ...
Sarah McQuate
Laos presents details for other Mekong countries on proposed dam
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) held a forum last week in Laos to discuss with other Mekong nations before going ahead with construction of a Luang Prabang hydropower project on Mekong River. The Lao government presented detail of the Luang Prabang hydropower project in the ninth ...
Xiaoxia
Royal Group to invest $1.5 billion in 700 MWs coal fired power plant
A 700 megawatt (mW) coal-fired power plant has been approved for development in Koh Kong’s Botum Sakor district by the Cabinet. The $1.5 billion investment in the Independent Power Producer (IPP) plant is a venture by Cambodian tycoon Okhna Kith Meng’s Royal Group. A source familiar with ...
Khmer Times
Harnessing Salween River: Settlement through confrontation or cooperation?
Myitsone Dam project is well known for its controversial impact on Myanmar’s political landscape, as it involves on and off pressure from China to restart the project in line with the signed contract as soon as possible. But what is less prominent is the controversy over ...
Sai Wansai
Victory on the Upper Mekong: Thai Cabinet Terminates Rapids Blasting Project
In a momentous win for the Mekong River, this week the Thai Cabinet formally called for cancellation of the Lancang-Mekong Navigation Channel Improvement Project, popularly known as the Mekong “rapids-blasting” project.The cabinet decision is the culmination of decades of campaigning by Thai Mekong communities and ...
Pianporn Deetes