Energy
Electricity production
Residents fear restart of coal power plant
A coal-fired power plant in southern Shan State that was shut down two years ago due to residents’ complaints may be reopening, despite the opposition of the local community, villagers say. They are already accusing local officials of breaking their promises. Test operations at the plant, ...
Vanishing Mekong? shifting tropical storms threaten a great river delta
Recent changes in the patterns of tropical storms are threatening the future of the Mekong River delta in Vietnam. This is one of the world’s great deltas. It is home to more than 20m people and the rice that is grown on its fertile land ...
More powercuts forecast for Yangon
Get ready for the blackouts. A regional minister has acknowledged that decayed powerlines and a surging demand for electricity will once again leave the commercial capital in the dark. Yangon Electricity Supply Corporation had hoped a handful of patchwork measures would help boost the supply but ...
Will hydropower turn the tide on the Salween River?
Both history and future development plans point to risks for the Salween River and its eco-systems and communities. Over-development, lack of public consultation and the appetite for energy threaten Asia’s last free flowing, international river. It is among the most visited, most photographed and most ...
Meteorologist advises smaller alternatives to Myitsone megadam
The former director general of the meteorology and hydrology department has proposed an alternative solution to the problem of the stalled Myitsone hydropower dam. Instead of building one destructive and publically reviled mega dam, why not build four smaller hydropower projects instead, he suggested on ...
Domestic energy boost reduces reliance on imports
Cambodia’s domestic electricity production grew significantly in 2015, helping to reduce the Kingdom’s reliance on imported energy, the national electricity regulator said in its newly released annual report. According to the Electricity Authority of Cambodia, the Kingdom’s energy generation increased by 46.79 percent in 2015 compared ...
Mother Nature and a hydropower onslaught aren’t the Mekong Delta’s only problems
Early this year, many Mekong Delta farmers fought a losing battle against an epic drought, the worst since 1926. Was the drought a harbinger of climate change? Perhaps it was, but more certainly it was an artifact of El Niño. The same ocean-warming phenomenon that ...
Expert: Law on renewable energy needed
A law on renewable energy is needed to ensure sustainable and effective development of renewable energy, according to Dr. Duong Duy Hoat from the Institute of Energy Science. The Government needs to instruct ministries, sectors and localities to make plans for developing renewable energy on the ...
Hai Duong pressures delayed thermal power plant
The Hai Duong People’s Committee is seeking solutions for the $2 billion, 1,200 megawatt Hai Duong thermal power plant, in case the investors continue to delay with the construction. The committee has requested the PM to direct ministries and relevant authorities to urge the co-investors, namely ...
Kayah residents protest planned Pwunchaung dam
About 500 residents of Bawlakhe township, Kayah State, on October 11 protested plans to build a dam on Pwunchaung Stream, as water and soil examination continues. Transparency and environmental impact are the major concerns for the protestors, who already sent letters to the president and state ...