Energy
Will China turn off the Mekong tap?
Countries in the lower Mekong basin are watching anxiously to see whether their “big brother” to the north will tackle the growing Mekong River crisis. China controls the upper section of the river, which rises on the Tibetan Plateau and runs through Laos, the North and ...
Vietnam: 4 GW PV Installation Finished in Past Two Months
According to latest statistics from Electricity of Vietnam ( EVN ), The country has 82 solar power plants connect to power network in past two months, with total 4,464 MW, and it accounts about 8.28% in Vietnam electricity supply mix, which is far more than ...
Dam Break in Northeast Laos Causes Heavy Losses For Locals, Builder
Heavy monsoonal rains in northeastern Laos ripped through a small one-megawatt hydropower dam in Xieng Khouang province’s Pek district earlier this week, causing extensive damage and flooding rice fields and property, local residents said Wednesday. “Because of heavy rainfall and too much water, the dam couldn’t ...
Kampong Speu’s solar farm completed
The newest solar farm in the Kingdom, built in Kampong Speu by SchneiTec Renewable, has been completed and is fully operational, the Ministry of Mines and Energy announced yesterday. The farm, located on 200 hectares of land in Kampong Speu’s Oudong district, can produce 60 megawatts, ...
Chea Vannak
Dam in Mekong River not hindering water flow: Lao officials
Lao government officials have dismissed social media reports that the Xayaboury dam in northern Laos is slowing the flow of water to downstream sections of the Mekong River. The dam is built on the run-of-river model, which does not require water to be stored, local daily ...
Damming the Mekong to environmental hell
Major dam construction projects have become a favourite pastime of some autocratic governments, with China leading the way. But, far from protecting against water shortages, as supporters promise, large dams are contributing to river depletion and severely exacerbating parched conditions. Nowhere is this more apparent ...
Brahma Chellaney
Shan State Residents, Civil Groups Call for Transparent, Green Energy Policy
Local residents and civil society organizations in Shan State will submit an open letter this week to the Union and state governments with recommendations for Shan State’s energy policy following a seminar on energy strategy held in Taunggyi from July 27-28. The open letter calls on ...
Myat Pyae Phyo
Mekong river countries urged to reconsider hydropower dams
Activists representing Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam yesterday urged their respective governments to consider the lives of people living around the Mekong River when building infrastructure projects. Some of the activists urged governments to increase impact assessment initiatives, while others called for the suspension of all ongoing ...
Pech Sotheary
Worrying days for the Mekong
Water levels at Southeast Asia’s largest river may be at its lowest levels in a century. Low rainfall, high temperatures and poor dam regulations are contributing to a historic low at the Mekong, affecting the region’s agriculture and fishing industries and leading to rapidly drying taps. Chinese ...
Jason Thomas
Solar power shines in Myanmar
Myanmar’s launch of its first commercial solar plant last month is a step in the right direction for a country that has yet to provide more than half of its citizens with proper access to electricity. Constructed on over 836 acres of land, an area equivalent ...
Jason Thomas