Re: Lao PDR boosts efforts to become 'battery' of Asia
- From: ntsuabxwm <ntchlpk123@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:54:45 -0700
On Oct 30, 1:44 pm, Vientiane <Vientiane...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The government is going ahead in its efforts to become the 'battery'
of Asia by surveying between 50 and 60 hydropower projects for
development and export to the region.
The Nam Theun-Hinboun Power Company of Laos also signed a Memorandum
of Understanding in Bangkok last week with the state-run Electricity
Generation Authority of Thailand to sell electricity to Thailand at US
$0.05 per unit.
The two organisations will also sign an electricity buying-selling
agreement at the end of this year, Deputy Director General of the Lao
Department of Energy Promotion and Development, Mr Khamchan Phalayok,
said on Monday.
The Theun-Hinboun Expansion Project in Khammuan province is scheduled
to begin in the middle of 2008, and electricity production will start
in 2012.
The existing project can produce only 210 MW, but with the expansion
it will be able to generate about 280 to 290 MW, of which 60 MW will
be sold to Electricite du Laos, and the rest exported to Thailand .
The government also plans to build the country's biggest power station
at Nabong village in Xaythany district in Vientiane to generate
electricity from four dams, for export to Thailand .
The four dams include the Nam Theun 1 (500MW), Nam Ngep (260MW), Nam
Ngum 2 (600MW) and Nam Ngum 3 (460MW); the power station is scheduled
for completion in 2010.
"Currently, we're surveying and marking out the transmission lines for
the transfer of electricity to the station," Mr Khamchan said.
However, the transmission line to the station would pass through the
forests and rice fields in the villages of Somsa-at, Na Khaen and Na
Lao, and the 50-metre area behind Ban Na in which wild elephants often
roam.
This is a source of concern for many critics who fear dam projects may
have a negative impact on the environment and livelihoods of local
people.
Mr Khamchan responded to concerns this week by maintaining that, while
all such projects will inevitably have an impact, the important
question to bear in mind was "how can we minimise impacts and bring
more benefit to the nation?"
Currently, Laos has the capacity to produce only 600MW of electricity
for both local use and export.
"If we can build all 50 or 60 of these hydropower projects under
survey, we can produce around 17,000MW to 18,000WM," Mr Khamchan said,
adding that by 2020 the country would be in the midst of building
around 29 projects.
Concerning the electricity market, he said renewable energy will
remain competitive in the region and Laos planned to export not only
to Thailand , but also Vietnam , Cambodia and China .
One of the challenges is to improve human resource capacity to
continue the projects once the concessions by foreign investors have
ended.
Another is how the country can acquire the financial resources to
develop hydropower by itself, to bring more benefit to villagers and
increase the country's revenue
LPDR want too many dams in Laos but very little the Lao people are
using it. They are just creat a monster waiting for thing to happen in
the future. Dam is not good such a country tiny like Lao, can they
find some solution better than just dams after a dams after a dams.
.
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