Energy
Electricity production
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 ...
Coal outgrows hydropower
As Cambodia’s demand for electricity grows and domestic energy production increases, new data released from the Ministry of Mines and Energy on October 10 show that coal-fired energy generation surpassed hydroelectricity for the first time last year. According to the Cambodia National Energy Statistics 2016, a joint ...
Solar sector waits on FiT power-up
As Vietnam looks to raise the nation’s renewable energy sources, foreign investors are sensing an opportunity for solar energy projects. But low feed-in-tariffs are slowing this movement, to the dismay of both local and international organisations. Representatives of six German firms recently came to Vietnam to ...
Industrial sector says policy details are needed to ensure economic zones grow
Poor infrastructure, low-quality or unreliable electricity supply, water shortages, inadequate transportation links, and ongoing disagreements with local residents affected by zone development are among the most serious problems developing the country’s industrial sector, experts say. But perhaps the biggest problem, they say, is the lack ...
Kamworks will harness sun to power residential tower
Kamworks Utility has clinched a deal to install and operate what could be the first commercial solar power system on a high-end residential tower in Cambodia, contributing to efforts to reduce elevated electricity costs through renewable energy, a company representative said on October 6. The Dutch-founded ...
Documentary raises alarm over Shan region threatened by Salween dam
Activists on September 28 released a 30-minute documentary as part of a campaign against a mega-dam in central Shan State. The documentary, called Drowning a Thousand Islands, includes local people from the remote Kunhing area voicing their concerns that the proposed Mong Ton hydropower project will irrevocably ...
Hydropower plants or “hydropower bombs”?
The recent incident at Song Bung Hydropower Plant has alerted Vietnam to reconsider the construction of so many hydroelectric plants, which have been compared to “timebombs”. Those who visit the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang cannot miss Ma Pi Leng, one of the four most ...
