Laos aiming for hydropower boost

The government hopes to increase capacity from the present forecast of 8,657MW to 30,000MW, including proposals to dam the Mekong.

"However, this figure may change, as there may be alterations to some projects. It may be higher or lower than estimated," said Electricity Department deputy director-general Daovong Phonekeo said in an interview recently.

Laos may achieve its goal of 30,000MW now that energy investors are studying hydropower projects at several sites on the Mekong River.

The figure includes 8,657MW to be generated by the 29 proposed major hydropower developments on branches of the river.

"When the study is complete, investors will discuss with the sectors concerned which sites will be economical and should be developed," Daovong said. "The study may discover new sites that can be dammed."

Daovong said the projected output figures would depend on the technology and methods employed. For example, generation by the Nam Theun 2 hydropower plant in Khammuan province was initially estimated at about 600MW, but the figure is now 1,070MW.

The government has permitted investors from China, Thailand and Vietnam to conduct project surveys. Investors are now working at five sites along the Mekong that may have a potential capacity below 10,000MW. The studies seek to understand possible effects on the environment, local communities and the economy.

"A pre-feasibility study was carried out on Mekong River projects in past years, but the government did not allow the project to go ahead, because it first wanted to develop sites on other rivers," Daovong said.

Daovong said the basic surveys of the Mekong were conducted by an international organisation. There are six possible dam sites in Laos and two on the Thai-Lao border.

The Lao government announced at the 10th Asean Summit, held in 2004 in Vientiane, that its intention was for Laos eventually to become the "battery of the region".

Laos has a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to provide 7,000MW of energy after 2015 to Thailand and 3,000MW from now until 2020 to Vietnam.

Representatives of the energy sectors in Laos and Cambodia recently signed a purchase agreement for the supply of about 5MW by the end of next year. However, there is no MoU to certify the terms of the sale officially.

Laos currently has a combined installation capacity of about 670MW from 11 major and 40 medium-sized hydropower plants.

Vientiane Times,

Asia News Network