Energy
Electricity production
Myanmar: Hydropower and the cost of life
Suicide rates and poverty are on the rise among rice farmers displaced by Myanmar’s Paunglaung Dam. The change of government is expected to spur foreign investment into the country, contributing to its rapid development. But among the myriad issues facing the country, including decades-long civil wars, the ...
Foreign investors acquire 36 percent stake in Vietnam's power firm
As Vietnam works to promote renewable energy, its power sector is becoming increasingly attractive to foreign investors. In the latest deal, the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, has bought a 16 percent stake in Gia Lai Electricity JSC, a major hydropower ...
China’s last wild river carries conflicting environmental hopes
Three great rivers rush through parallel canyons in the mountains of southwest China on their way to the coastal plains of Asia. At least 10 dams have been built on two of them, the Mekong and the Yangtze. The third remains wild: the remote, raging ...
Local fishers still reporting catches at Don Sahong
Local fishers around Don Sahong Hydropower Project area in Khong district, Champassak province said their fish catches have only decreased slightly this year as the project has improved fish passage for upstream and downstream migration. One fisherman in Don Sahong village, Mr Viengxay explained that recently ...
Incentives may come for solar power investments
The Vietnamese Government plans to develop solar power and discuss incentives to encourage solar energy projects in the country. Government to outline incentive options for PM’s consideration as interest in solar power investments continues to rise. Increasing numbers of investors are expressing an interest in solar power ...
‘Power shortage’ if newcomers win gas deals
Thailand could face a power shortage in 2020 and 2021 if newcomers win the upcoming petroleum auctions and current gas producers cut their investments prior to the handover, a senior energy official has warned. Prasert Sinsukprasert, deputy director-general of the Energy Policy and Planning Office, told ...
Damming the Nam Tha in Northern Laos
The Nam Tha, or Tha River, begins in northern Laos near the Lao-China border and runs southwest to join the Mekong just south of Huay Xay on the Lao-Thai border. In October 2014, I traveled by motorcycle and longtail boat up the Nam Tha, starting ...
Cambodia’s solar sector set for bright future
The Kingdom’s ability to produce renewable energy boosted with $30m funding from Climate Investments Funds. With almost half the population of Cambodia without access to electricity, the announcement today of $30m in funding for renewable energy projects should come as welcome news. The $8.1-billion Climate Investments Funds, ...
Authorities visit disputed coal power plant in Mon State
Authorities in Mon State for the first time visited a Thai cement factory where a coal power plant was built without informing locals or authorities, said local sources. The Mawlamyine Cement Limited factory officers said that they intended to use coal power if the government could ...
Strong need expected for distributed power generation
The inadequacy of transmission and distribution infrastructure and the topographical challenges in isolated islands such as those in Indonesia and the Philippines have created strong demand for distributed power generation in Southeast Asia. “Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines have been facing severe rolling blackouts due to ...
