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Xieng Khuang power project expects to begin study next month
Local hydropower developer ACE Consultancy Company and its shareholders expect to conduct a detailed study on the Nam Pot small scale hydropower project in Xieng Khuang province next month.
The study will start in Phaxay district immediately after a project development agreement (PDA) has been signed by concerned sectors of the Ministry of Energy and Mines.
“We are currently only waiting for approval for an environmental certificate from an agency of the Prime Minister's Office,” said company Director Mr Daovone Phachanthavong.
The project completed a prefeasibility study after investors signed a memorandum of understanding with the government at the end of 2009.
The investors have received a technical certificate and the PDA will be signed once the environmental certificate is approved, with the detailed study taking about six months to complete.
“We also hope to sign a power purchase agreement with Electricite du Laos (EDL) by March next year,” Mr Daovone said.
The developers expect to begin construction in 2013 and take about two years to complete, with an installed capacity of 15 megawatts (MW) for sale to EDL for local supply.
“The project will cost about 241 billion kip (US$30 million),” said the director.
He said the project will be funded by about US$9 million of investors' money and the remaining US$21 million will be loaned by a foreign bank.
“We will start fund raising by April next year,” he said, adding that the project would have no impact on households and resettlement villages would not be needed, as the dam would only flood a small area.
But some agricultural land would be flooded by the reservoir, for which farmers will have to be compensated.
Mr Daovone said that although the completed power plant will be small, it will work year round. In the wet season when the water level is higher it will use a large generator with installed capacity of 12MW and a smaller 3MW generator. In the dry season, the plant will run only the smaller generator.
Laos is rich in natural resources, but small-scale hydropower has not been developed properly or widely enough, especially in remote areas without access to the national power grid.
The government is currently promoting the rapid development of small and medium sized power plants for local supply to reduce the need for imported electricity. These plants have installed capacities ranging from 2-100MW.
Laos will witness the opening of at least two new power plants a year between now and 2020. In 2006 the country had only 10 power plants with a total capacity of 700MW. Now it has 14 plants with a total capacity of 2,540MW.
According to the Energy Promotion and Development Department of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, excluding the mainstream Mekong River, Laos has the potential to generate about 26,500MW from hydropower sources.
Vientiane Times
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