Electricity production

The government will light another 4000 villages across the country in the second phase of its electrification plan, said U Thura Aung Ko, chief engineer and project manager of the Ministry of Electricity and Energy. He added the agency has begun inviting tenders to supply equipment for ...

Stakeholders are concerned about the legitimacy of the multinational approval process for Laos’ Luangprabang hydropower project, after recommendations to lower the environmental impact were raised, but few were accepted during a meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) last week in Vientiane. The meeting was held ...

Laos has dismissed fears that its next hydropower dam on the Mekong River would devastate downstream communities after neighboring countries and rights groups raised their doubts at a regional forum in the capital last week. The tiny landlocked country announced its intentions to go ahead with ...

For more than two decades, communities in Southeast Asia have been facing threats from the expansion of hydropower development. Dams have been justified by the governments of Southeast Asian countries as the main development agenda, which would generate large amounts of income and contribute to ...

The Mekong River Commission, member countries and relevant partners yesterday discussed procedures for a technical review of Laos’ planned Luang Prabang hydropower project. About 200 people comprising representatives of member countries Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, civil society, academics, private sector and development partners were in ...

Vietnam is powering ahead of the rest of Southeast Asia as it pushes for greater reliance on renewable energy. The region, long criticized for lagging behind in its efforts to adapt to more sustainable ways, is still heavily reliant on coal consumption. Vietnam, however, has bold ...

The government is encouraging the building of environmentally-friendly hydropower plants to ensure green growth and sustainable poverty reduction, according to a senior government official. “The government is highly encouraged to promote environmentally-friendly and sustainable hydropower projects,” Deputy Minister of Natural Resource and Environment, Ms Bounkham Vorachit, ...

Countries in Southeast Asia are building fewer coal-fired plants than expected as lenders distance themselves from the polluting technology. A new report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) finds that new coal capacity has fallen sharply from a peak of almost 13 gigawatts (GW) in 2016 to ...

The first hydropower dam on the lower Mekong River began commercial operations in Laos on Tuesday amid protests from Thai villagers who say the Xayaburi Dam and several others in the works will destroy their livelihoods. The 1,285-megawatt Xayaburi Dam’s debut coincides with parts of the ...

Mekong residents demand transboundary impacts addressed. The first dam built on the Lower Mekong, Xayaburi, has commenced its commercial operation today with a big splash of advertising on almost every newspaper’s wraps in Thailand, convincing the public that it is in harmony with the nature. Its executive, ...