Energy

Implementation of the Lower Sesan 2 hydropower project in northeast Cambodia is underway despite civil society organisations and local residents expressing concerns over possible serious impacts on the environment and natural resources. Ouch Vibol, project officer of the Culture and Environment Preservation Association, told journalists at the ...

Plans to build an 800-megawatt coal power plant near some of Thailand’s most popular beaches have sparked protests and a hunger strike by activists who say officials aren’t considering its impact on the pristine environment that makes the area an international tourist destination. More than 100 members ...

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has warned that electricity bills could go up in a year or two if new power generation plants don’t get off the ground. His warning came in the wake of protests against a coal-fired power plant project in Krabi which intensified ...

Confused citizens in coastal communities like Kampot and Sihanoukville are complaining about surging electricity bills, which they say are not linked to higher usage or even rises in per unit cost. The rising costs are largely unexplained and often disproportionately high in relation to actual power ...

Thailand, China and Myanmar are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of the 7,000-megawatt Mong Ton hydropower-plant project on the upper Salween River this year, after Myanmar’s government cancelled its Tasang hydropower project. Speaking yesterday on behalf of the three countries, ...

Provincial administration organisations (PAOs) in Thailand’s three southern border provinces have agreed to delay imposing a new local tax on fuel sales, which led to a brief protest by local pump stations 13 July.  Motorists  in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat were left high and dry after most ...

China’s plan to cut carbon emissions commits Beijing to a surge in construction of ecologically destructive hydropower dams that heralds the end of free-flowing rivers in the country, experts say. Beijing last week formally submitted its 2030 goals for generating energy from non-fossil fuels, garnering international praise as nations ...

Conservationists, politicians and at least one prime minister are warning the quest for hydro power for booming urban centres in China and south-east Asia is threatening the food supply of more than 40 million people, including millions in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s food bowl. Kraisak Choonhavan, ...

The environmental group International Rivers has called on Laos to suspend construction of a major dam on the Mekong River and to continue talks with its concerned neighbours downstream. The Don Sahong Dam, which would spread across the river just above the Cambodian border, is a ...

An Australian company contracted to assess the potential environmental and social impact of the planned Mongton dam has responded to recent criticism of the consultation process, saying that interference with its data collection efforts could lead to “suboptimal outcomes for the affected communities.” The Snowy Mountains ...