Nam Ou 2 launches first energy generator
Nam Ou 2 launches first energy generator
The first energy generator on the Nam Ou cascade, the Nam Ou 2, with an installed capacity of 40 megawatts (MW), commenced electricity generation on Sunday in Nam Bak district of Luang Prabang province.
The commencement of generation is a present to celebrate the 40 year anniversary of Laos, officials reported.
The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Mr Somsavat Lengsavad and officials from the National Assembly, Luang Prabang, the Ministry of Energy and Mines, along with the Chinese Ambassador to Laos, Mr Guan Huabing and company representatives.
“Currently we are undertaking the installation of the second unit that will be completed soon,” Nam Ou River Basin Hydropower Co Ltd Deputy General Manager, Mr Bounpong Ketsadasak said on Tuesday in Vientiane.
Nam Ou 2 hydropower plant will have three generators, each with an installed capacity of 40MW, the handout noted.
The plant's total installed capacity of 120MW will be able to generate electricity of about 546GWh annually for local supply, reducing the electricity imports from neighbouring countries, according to a handout at the ceremony.
Minister of Energy and Mines, Dr Khammany Inthilath, said at the ceremony that the project construction started at the end of 2012 and is expected to launch commercial operation in early 2017.
The project will have a total investment cost of more than 2.45 trillion kip (US$300.17 million). It has two shareholders; Sinohydro of China holds 80 percent while the remaining 20 percent is held by Electricite du Laos (EDL).
Nam Ou 2 hydropower plant is the first in a series of construction projects along the Nam Ou river.
Dr Khammany said that the Lao government and the Chinese hydropower developer, Sinohydro, are working in cooperation towards the construction of seven hydropower dams on the Nam Ou river in northern Laos.
The first phase of the Nam Ou power project includes Nam Ou 2, 5 and 6. The main civil works of the first phase of Nam Ou River Basin Hydropower Project began in December 2012.
Hydropower projects 5 and 6 are being built on the Nam Ou river as part of a series of dams planned on the watercourse under the build-operate-transfer model, each of which will have a concession period of at least 25 years.
The Nam Ou 5 dam, located in Samphan district of Phongsaly province, will have an installed capacity of 240MW. The Nam Ou 6 hydro-electric dam is located in Phongsaly district and will have an installed capacity of 180MW. These two projects are worth an estimated US$770 million and are targeted for completion in the near future.
Prior to national liberation in 1975 there were only three hydropower plants in Laos with a total installed capacity of just 33MW. So far Laos has 38 power plants for which development has been completed, with a total installed capacity of 6,264MW. Laos is aiming for a total installed capacity of about 12,000MW by 2025.
The abundant resources of the Mekong River and its tributaries give Laos the potential to produce more than 25,000MW of electricity.
