Hydroelectric power is a significant resource in Laos, with an estimated technically exploitable capacity of 18,000 MW. Between the September 2013 to October 2014 financial year, Lao hydropower plants generated almost 15.5 billion kWh. Of this amount, nearly 12.5 billion kWh was exported, earning the country over US$610 million.
General Cheng Sayavong is a general of the Lao People's Revolutionary Army and head of the Borisat Phattana Khed Phudoi (BPKP) or in English, the Mountainous Areas Development Company (MADC). He is one of the most powerful men in Laos, though he has not been known to dabble in national politics. His fiefdom is the far-flung hamlet of Lak Xao, where he controls much of the country's timber trade, including trade in precious Hinoki cypress, which he extracts by helicopter and ships to Japan via the Vietnamese port of Vinh. The Nam Theun II (NT2) dam is in his backyard. Already a favorite of expats and diplomats, as well as tourists who visit his menagerie of endangered species, as construction gets under way, his profile may become more visible.
The Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project, or simply NT2, is a hydroelectric dam located on the Nam Theun River in Laos. Commercial operation of the plant began in April 2010. The scheme diverts water from the Nam Theun, a tributary of the Mekong River, to the Xe Bang Fai River, enabling a generation capacity of 1,075 MW, from a 350 m (1,148 ft) difference in elevation between the reservoir and the power station.
The Nam Ngum Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Nam Ngum River, a major tributary of the Mekong River in Laos. It was the first hydropower dam built in the Lao PDR.
Pöyry Oyj is an international consulting and engineering firm that serves clients globally across the energy and industrial sectors and provides local engineering services in its core markets. Its focus sectors are power generation, transmission & distribution, forest industry, chemicals & biorefining, mining & metals, transportation and water. It changed its name from Jaakko Pöyry Group in 2006. The company is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange and is headquartered in Vantaa, Finland.
The Nakai–Nam Theun National Biodiversity Conservation Area (NBCA), located in Laos, comprises one of the most pristine wildernesses remaining in Southeast Asia. Nakai–Nam Theun NBCA covers approximately 3,445 km2 of the Annamite mountains and the adjacent Nakai Plateau in the provinces of Khammouane and Bolikhamxay. The reserve headquarters is located in Nakai, the capital of Nakai District.
Laos and Thailand have had bilateral relations since the time of their precursor Lan Xang and Ayutthaya kingdoms in the 15th century. The two countries share a border and express linguistic and cultural similarities. The Lao kingdom of Lan Xang included all of northeastern Thailand as recently as the early 18th century. Thailand's northeastern region, Isan, has particularly strong Lao roots. Linguistically, the inhabitants of Isan, a third of the Thai population, speak the Isan language, a Lao dialect. Diplomacy has concentrated on the Mekong River, seeking to make it a "river of true peace and friendship", as made explicit in statements by both respective prime ministers in 1976.
Électricité du Laos(EDL) is the state corporation of Laos that owns and operates the country's electricity generation, electricity transmission and electricity distribution assets. The company also manages the import and export of electricity from the national electricity grid of the country. EDL was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Vientiane.
The Xe Bang Fai River or Nam Xebangfai is a river of Laos.
The estimated hydropower potential of the lower Mekong Basin is 30,000 MW, while that of the upper Mekong Basin is 28,930 MW. In the lower Mekong, more than 3,235 MW has been realized via facilities built largely over the past ten years, while projects under construction will represent an additional 3,209 MW. An additional 134 projects are planned for the lower Mekong, which will maximize the river's hydropower generating capacity. The single most significant impact—both now and in the future—on the use of water and its management in the Mekong Region is hydropower.
The Lower Se San 2 Dam is a hydroelectric dam under development on the Se San River in Stung Treng Province, northeastern Cambodia. The Se San River is a major tributary of the Mekong River. The dam site is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of the provincial capital, also named Stung Treng. The first turbine began producing electricity in November 2017. The dam was officially opened on December 18, 2018.
The Xayaburi Dam is a run-of-river hydroelectric dam on the Lower Mekong River approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Sainyabuli (Xayaburi) town in northern Laos. Commercial operation of the dam is scheduled to start in October 2019. The main purpose of the dam is to produce hydroelectric power, 95% of which is to be purchased by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). The project is surrounded in controversy due to complaints from downstream riparians and environmentalists. Preliminary construction began in early-2012, but work on the dam itself was suspended shortly thereafter due to complaints from Cambodia and Vietnam downstream. After making modifications to the dam's design, Laos started construction with a ceremony on 7 November 2012. The Xayaburi Dam is the first of the 11 dams planned on the lower Mekong.
The Houay Ho is a dam located in the Samakkhixay District of Attapeu Province, Laos, 160 km (99 mi) east of Pakse and 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Attapeu. The project is considered the first privately financed joint venture 'build-operate-transfer' (BOT) hydropower project in Laos. It has installed capacity of 152.1 megawatts (204,000 hp), almost all of which is exported to Thailand.
This page describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Laos.
Bolikhamsai is a province of Laos, located in the middle of the country. Pakxanh, Thaphabath, Pakkading, Borikhan, Viengthong and Khamkheu are its districts and Paksan is its capital city. The province is also home to Nam Theun 2 Dam, the country's largest hydroelectric project.
Khammouane or Khammouan is a province of Laos, located in the center of the country. Its capital lies at Thakhek.
Nam Kading National Protected Area is a national protected area in Bolikhamsai Province in central Laos. This rugged and largely inaccessible park, cut through by its namesake Nam Kading river, is home to a wide variety of plant and animal species, some endangered. Due to its ruggedness, the park lacks any significant human settlement.
