WEEKLY NEWS DIGEST
Curating news, commentary and resources on development, its environmental and social impacts, and the context affecting the Mekong Region
MEKONG DEVELOPMENT
CKP moves forward with Luang Prabang dam
Thailand’s CK Power Plc (CKP), a power generation arm of CH Karnchang Plc, is going ahead with its feasibility study to build a hydroelectric power plant near Luang Prabang on the Mekong River in northern Laos. The study will be conducted alongside negotiations over a power tariff rate with the state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, which will be a power buyer.
CAMBODIA
Droughts and political risk challenge hydro’s place in energy mixture
Cambodia will probably expand hydropower carefully, according to The Stimson Center’s Courtney Weatherby. “Policymakers would benefit from being strategic in selecting hydropower projects. This could be done through seeking to strategically identify and support projects which are sited above existing projects to avoid further fragmentation of the Mekong River system and avoiding dams on the mainstream of the Mekong, which would negatively impact the flow of water, fish and sediments to the Tonle Sap lake and further threaten fisheries productivity and domestic food production,” Weatherby said.
Myanmar
Myanmar extends deadline for 1 GW PV tender
Through the procurement exercise, the government wants to build ground-mounted solar power projects on an independent power producer (IPP), and build-own-operate (BOO) basis.
Thailand
Villagers slam EIA report on Yuam water project
A group of ethnic villagers who oppose a plan to divert water from the Yuam River to Bhumibol dam is planning to submit a protest letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. They say the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report lacks transparency and the project will have detrimental effects on their livelihood.
Vietnam
Green energy: What ASEAN can learn from Vietnam
Like other regions around the world, Southeast Asia is no exception to decarbonising its energy sector, and improving its national energy security – perhaps simply because renewable energy (RE) has become cheaper. The ASEAN Member States (AMS) individually and collectively have set ambitious targets to incorporate RE in their energy system.