Borikhamxay hydropower sells to Laos, Thailand
Borikhamxay hydropower sells to Laos, Thailand
Energy developer Nam Ngiep 1 Power Co Ltd (NNP1PC) has agreed to sell electricity generated at its planned Nam Ngiep 1 hydropower project to companies in Laos and Thailand.
The company, a joint venture between Japanese, Thai and Lao investors, signed two 27 year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Electricite du Laos (EDL) and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) in Vientiane on Tuesday.
The agreements set out the basic terms and conditions for electricity sales from the Borikhamxay province project, including unit price, basic operation patterns and the d uration of the sales period, according to a press release from the company.
NNP1PC also signed a project concession agreement with the Lao government at the Ministry of Planning and Investment on the same day.
The PPAs signing ceremony was attended by Planning and Investment Minister, Mr Somdy Douangdy, officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mines and Borikhamxay province, and representatives from the Japanese and Thai Embassies to Laos and the priv ate sector.
Construction on the Nam Ngiep 1 project is expected to start next year.
At the ceremony NNP1PC Managing Director, Mr Yoshihiro Yamabayashi, said the Nam Ngiep 1 hydropower project was committed to start commercial operations in January 2019.
“We will take about five and a half years to complete project construction,” he said.
Nam Ngiep 1 will be a reservoir-type hydropower plant with a total capacity of 290MW, expected to generate about 1,550GWh of electricity per year.
About 93 percent of its generated power will be sold to EGAT, while the remaining 7 percent will go to EDL.
The generated energy will be transported through a 230kV transmission line to Nabong substation in Vientiane's Xaythany district, after which it will be conveyed across the Mekong River to Thailand through a 500kV line.
A 115kV transmission line will run from a dam powerhouse to Pakxon substation for domestic supplies.
Investment in the project is estimated to be about 3.9 trillion kip (US$500 million) to 7.8 trillion kip (US$1 billion).
Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc. from Japan is the company's largest shareholder, with a 45 percent holding, while Thailand's EGAT International Co. Ltd. holds 30 percent and Lao Holding State Enterprise takes the remaining 25 percent.
The project site is 150km northeast of Vientiane and will use water from the Nam Ngiep River, a tributary of the Mekong.
Its main dam will be a concrete gravity dam with a 2.2 billion cubic metre reservoir.
A re-regulation dam will be built downstream of the main dam in order to discharge water evenly on a 24 hour basis, and an 18MW re-regulation power station will be built to supply EDL.
The re-regulation facility will also be used to irrigate the resettlement area for communities displaced by the project, which NNP1PC plans to develop on its right bank.
vientiane times
