Three provinces to become major power generators
Three provinces to become major power generators
The three provinces of Xieng Khuang, Xaysomboun and Borikhamxay will be major energy generation areas in Laos in the future as there are many hydropower plants under development in addition to those that are already operational.
“Once the construction of future plants in these areas is completed and they become operational, the generated electricity will be able to supply Vientiane and the southern provinces, increasingly for local use as well as export. In some areas this will reduce the need for energy imports,” said Minister of Energy and Mines Dr Khammany Inthirath.
“They will help a lot in terms of promoting more rapid socio-economic development,” the minister said recently in Borikhamxay province.
Currently there are over ten plants with an installed capacity of almost 1,900 megawatts (MW) that are operating in the three provinces. They include Theun Hinboun, Nam Nyuang, and Houay Leuk in Borikhamxay, which together have a combined installed capacity of almost 700MW.
Other operating plants include Nam Ngum 2, Nam Xan 3B and Nam Leuk in Xaysomboun province with a combined installed capacity of about 720MW as well as Nam Ngum 5, Nam Ngiep 2, Nam Xan 3A and Nam Xan in Xieng Khuang province with a combined installed capacity of almost 400MW.
All told, the many power plants under construction in the three provinces will have installed capacity of more than 1,800MW. Theis figure includes Nam Ngiep 1 and Nam Theun 1 with an installed capacity of more than 810MW in Borikhamxay.
Other plants include Nam Phai, Nam Chae, Nam Mang 1, Nam Pha Nyai and Nam Ngum 3 in Xaysomboun province with a combined installed capacity of about 750MW as well as Nam Mo 1 and Nam Mo in Xieng Khuang province with a combined installed capacity of about 250MW.
The t hree provinces also have additional power projects that are under study and they will have an installed capacity of hundreds of megawatts.
There are about 20 projects that are under study in Borikhamxay and they comprise both large and small scale power plants. The large projects include Nam Ngiep Meuang Mai, Nam Xan 1, Nam Hong, Nam Theun 4 and Nam Theun Kaengsaten.
In Xaysomboun, there are also about 22 power plant projects under study, of which the main projects include Nam Phuan, Nam Bak 1, Nam Bak 2 and Nam Mang upstream while there is also a wind power project study.
In Xieng Khuang, there are about 40 projects under study, including about 14 plants that commenced construction recently.
As of 2015, Laos has built 38 power plants at a total cost of more than 81.7 trillion kip (US$10 billion) with a total installed capacity of 6,265MW and they can generate 33,315 million kWh of electricity per annum.
Dr Khammany said that there are still 45 power plant projects under construction and yet more plants to be developed in the future.
Laos is aiming for a total installed capacity of about 12,000MW by 2025, the Ministry of Energy and Mines reported.
The abundant resources of the Mekong River and its tributaries give Laos the potential to produce more than 25,000MW of electricity.
In 1975, there were only 19,000 families or 3 percent of the total population that had access to electricity in Laos; however these days about 89.6 percent of the total population can access the power grid.
