Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Huadian Group to build four 10 GW hydropower bases in 2011-15

Huadian Group to build four 10-mln-kw hydropower bases in 2011-15
Xinhua News Agency
Apr. 27, 2011

http://www.istockanalyst.com/business/news/5090705/huadian-group-to-build-four-10-mln-kw-hydropower-bases-in-2011-15

Apr. 27, 2011 (Xinhua News Agency) -- Huadian Group to build four 10-mln-kw hydropower bases in 2011-15

BEIJING, Apr. 27 (Xinhua) China Huadian Group, one of China's leading power giants, is planning to build four 10-million-kilowatt hydropower bases in China during 2011-2015, said the company in a report on sustainable development of hydropower.

According to report, the four bases will be located in up stream and midstream of Jinsha River, Wujiang River, and Nujiang River , all of which are in the southwestern part of China.

The four hydropower bases are expected to increase total hydropower installed capacity of the company by 10-26 million kilowatt s by 2015, accounting for 8 percent of China's total hydropower installed capacity.

By the end of 2010, hydropower installed capacity of Huad ian reached 15.38 million kilowatts, about 17 percent of total install ed capacity of the company and 7.3 percent of China's total hydropower installed capacity.

The report pointed out that hydropower installed capacity

would have to reach 330 million kilowatts by 2020 to meet the target to increase the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption to 15 percent of total energy consumption in China. (Edited by Li Xiaohui, lixh@ xinhua.org)
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Kenya, China sign 10 bilateral deals

Kenya, China sign 10 bilateral deals
AFP - April 22, 2011

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jcz4XwzXs4b2OaibGFN-PAnixjNw?docId=CNG.3c64af4b2c0bdbe339ac666532a976d8.181

NAIROBI — Kenya signed 10 bilateral agreements with China Thursday as the Asian giant increased its footprint in the resource-poor but market-rich and strategically located east African country.

"Kenya and China today moved to strengthen relations with the signing of 10 bilateral agreements on key projects in the country," the Kenyan presidency said in a statement.

Among the deals signed was a 95-million-dollar framework agreement for a 500-bed hospital that will be country's first fully-fledged university hospital, the statement said.

Projects to develop solar energy, provide anti-malaria equipment, build a hydropower station and other agreements on media and education were also inked.

"Today Kenya is the largest beneficiary of Chinese aid and concessional loans. We intend to deepen the relations further," senior Chinese Communist Party official Li Changchun said at the ceremony.

Kenyan-Chinese trade stood at around 1.3 billion dollars in 2009 with Kenyan exports to China almost negligeable.

With few natural resources to attract China's voracious energy industry, Kenya is nevertheless considered an important access market and a regional cornerstone.

The east African country has acquired new strategic significance for China through its proximity to the future state of Southern Sudan.

China imports 60 percent of Southern Sudan's oil and the inauguration of a new state, slated for July, could lead to the creation of a new pipeline which does not go through the north but instead cross Kenya to reach the sea.

According to official Chinese figures, China currently has 22 construction companies undertaking 52 separate projects in Kenya. ________________________________________________ You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org To be removed from the list, please visit: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Kenya, China sign 10 bilateral deals

Kenya, China sign 10 bilateral deals
AFP - April 22, 2011

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jcz4XwzXs4b2OaibGFN-PAnixjNw?docId=CNG.3c64af4b2c0bdbe339ac666532a976d8.181

NAIROBI — Kenya signed 10 bilateral agreements with China Thursday as the Asian giant increased its footprint in the resource-poor but market-rich and strategically located east African country.

"Kenya and China today moved to strengthen relations with the signing of 10 bilateral agreements on key projects in the country," the Kenyan presidency said in a statement.

Among the deals signed was a 95-million-dollar framework agreement for a 500-bed hospital that will be country's first fully-fledged university hospital, the statement said.

Projects to develop solar energy, provide anti-malaria equipment, build a hydropower station and other agreements on media and education were also inked.

"Today Kenya is the largest beneficiary of Chinese aid and concessional loans. We intend to deepen the relations further," senior Chinese Communist Party official Li Changchun said at the ceremony.

Kenyan-Chinese trade stood at around 1.3 billion dollars in 2009 with Kenyan exports to China almost negligeable.

With few natural resources to attract China's voracious energy industry, Kenya is nevertheless considered an important access market and a regional cornerstone.

The east African country has acquired new strategic significance for China through its proximity to the future state of Southern Sudan.

China imports 60 percent of Southern Sudan's oil and the inauguration of a new state, slated for July, could lead to the creation of a new pipeline which does not go through the north but instead cross Kenya to reach the sea.

According to official Chinese figures, China currently has 22 construction companies undertaking 52 separate projects in Kenya. ________________________________________________ This is International Rivers' mailing list on China's global footprint, and particularly Chinese investment in international dam projects. You received this message as a subscriber on the list: chinaglobal@list.internationalrivers.org To be removed from the list, please visit: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Connecting the grassroots in Africa

http://www.grist.org/article/2011-03-26-how-wiring-the-developing-world-can-help-save-the-planet

How wiring the developing world can help save the planet 1

by Amanda Little

26 Mar 2011

Envaya helps people in Africa build ultralight websites, on the
ultracheap.Like most equatorial countries, Tanzania is feeling the
impacts of climate change. Malaria is spreading to areas at ever-
higher altitudes. Lake Victoria, which feeds the Nile, is retreating.
The rainy season is starting later and getting shorter -- last year,
the typically four-month season lasted just two, cutting soil moisture
and stunting crop growth. Fodder for grazing animals is getter
scarcer. Some farmers are foregoing water-hungry crops like corn,
beans, and bananas in favor of mono-cropping plants like cassava, a
tuber that is drought-resistant.
These and other effects of global warming, which might otherwise go
undocumented and unnoticed, are being recorded on Envaya.org, an
online network designed, at the most basic level, to connect third-
world populations to the web.

Even people who live hundreds of miles from a cable, a phone line, or
a paved road, and who subsist on a few dollars a week, can use
Envaya�s ultralight platform to establish websites. The site is geared
toward community organizations working to address issues ranging from
deforestation and climate change to sexual abuse and special-needs
education. It links these groups to each other, to potential funders,
and to the rest of the world.

Envaya aims not just to help connect the 2 billion-plus people
worldwide who currently have no access to the internet, but to help
these populations build the foundations of civil society. It could
also help super-charge the global environmental movement -- knitting
together local but fast-growing collectives of activists who are
planting trees, protecting waterways, promoting biodiversity, and
encouraging sustainable agriculture throughout the developing world.
With internet access available and easy to use in low-connectivity
environments, decentralized groups could form a unified front against
global warming.

Envaya was cofounded just over a year ago, in mid-2010, by 27-year-old
Joshua Stern. After graduating Stanford in 2006 with a BS in computer
science, Stern forsook Silicon Valley to enlist in the Peace Corps. At
the age of 23, he was posted to the island of Pemba, part of the
Zanzibar archipelago off the coast of Tanzania. No more than a handful
of people among the largely Muslim population of roughly 350,000 had
ever touched a keyboard, let alone typed an email. Stern and his team
of fellow volunteers built computer labs in schools, hospitals, and
community centers, installing dozens throughout the island. They
trained hundreds of students, parents, and teachers in the very basics
-- how to double-click, hunt-and-peck type, use a search engine.

During this time, Stern recognized two trends. First, the penetration
of telecom in the region was surging. Companies like Vodacom, Tigo,
Airtel, and Zantel entered East Africa in the early 2000s, and by
2008, some 20 million of Tanzania�s 40 million population had cell
phones or USB devices that enabled laptops and computers to connect to
the internet via cellular link. The problem was a huge software gap.
There were no tools or interfaces that could readily be used by people
with limited computer skills in low-connectivity environments (the
cellular connections had limited bandwidth and are, to this day, often
slower than dialup).

Meanwhile, a grassroots activist movement was building throughout
Tanzania and East Africa. Thanks to relatively stable governments,
community organizations were springing up by the hundreds, addressing
a broad range of civil society concerns from the environment to
education, public health, and the arts. And yet these groups had no
way of publishing research, sharing information, following each
other�s progress, and connecting to funders and lawmakers.

Enter Envaya -- a tool designed both to bridge the digital divide and
eliminate barriers to social action. Focusing on design challenges
that demanded easily usable but technically sophisticated features,
Stern teamed up with fellow Stanford computer-science grad Jesse Young
to develop software designed to be ultralight, allowing users to
publish content, connect with each other, and collaborate in a low-
bandwidth and low-tech environment.

Envaya profiles are meant to serve as complete and functional websites
for users. Like Meetup.com, the software allows participants to
organize conferences and events. And like Facebook, the software
allows people to create and define their identities. But while Meetup
is limited in function to event planning and does not work well on low-
bandwith, low-tech equipment, and Facebook is a social network for
individuals, Envaya is a functionally versatile and open network of
civil society organizations.

Currently Envaya has been deployed in Tanzania alone -- the country
where Stern had established relationships with citizens, foundations,
and government officials during his Peace Corps experience -- and
there it has been going gangbusters. Led by social entrepreneur
Radhina Kipozi, the Envaya team on the ground in Tanzania has trained
local volunteers in computer literacy and outreach. Since the site's
debut in Tanzania in mid-2010, 350 organizations have joined. The
website's environmental outreach has been spearheaded by Jeff Schnurr,
who also founded Community Forests International, which has helped
plant more than 100,000 trees on the island of Pemba.

The "offline" impact for Envaya's users has been subtle but
significant: The Africa Climate Change Initiative in Dar es Salaam has
been following environmental groups on Envaya to develop a national
climate-change strategy based on local experiences. Schurr's Community
Forests International has, through Envaya, connected with dozens of
other tree-planting groups throughout Tanzania to share best practices
for saving seeds, accessing seed banks, and replanting.

The first step for Envaya has been simply getting organizations like
these online. As Stern and Young expand to new countries -- Rwanda and
Kenya are next, with pilots in several others to follow -- they will,
with the help of the open-source community, be designing more
sophisticated collaboration tools, communication tools, vertical
specific tools (for certain kinds of organizations), mobile payments,
and GPS tools for monitoring and reporting phenomena such as tree
growth and crop developments. These tools that will be built with the
same "ultralight" and simple but elegant approach inherent in Envaya's
core technology.

As these tools develop, Envaya could play a key role in emerging
carbon markets. GPS-enabled mapping and reporting tools could help
verify where trees are being planted, where forests are being
protected, and how much carbon is being stored through those efforts.
Envaya's transparent network might also help monitor the exchange of
carbon credits and ensure that the people who are working to protect
and grow forests are seeing the rewards. Similar mapping tools could
also enable agriculture experts in wealthy nations, for instance, to
monitor and investigate crop failures in remote regions of the
developing world and provide solutions to poor and rural farmers.

Envaya is not about markets; it's about the groups that are working to
promote change, building a sense of community and fellowship, and
helping larger institutions function. That said, Envaya could have a
big impact on markets. The more people connect to the internet, the
more they start to see the internet as a way of doing business -- and
the more businesses can connect to them. From the standpoint of the
Googles, Amazons, eBays, and Facebooks of the world, Envaya can be a
way of connecting billions of developing-world civilians to the
internet, which will ultimately facilitate fast-evolving markets.

In a sense, civil society can be thought of as a dominant industry in
the developing world, and serving those needs will help drive economic
development as a whole. Envaya can help identify good projects on the
grassroots level, and facilitate their connection to larger
organizations that can provide decisive support. Consider the
challenge of reliable electrical power in Tanzania and throughout the
developing world, one of the critical problems handicapping economic
development. Envaya can, for example, connect a local community-based
organization looking for ways to power a new water pump to an NGO
focused on solar power. It can, in the bigger sense, serve as a bridge
between people on the ground who know what they need and companies and
foundations that can provide equipment, services, and expertise.

In the long run, Envaya could have more influence in the fight against
climate change as a shaper of markets than as a tool for grassroots
activists. But Stern is aware that markets won't function unless the
societies within them are functioning. For now, Envaya's focus is not
on building revenue streams but on building tools that can ultimately
help societies -- and ecosystems -- in the developing world thrive.

This piece was adapted from the Forbes.com "Power Trip" blog.

Amanda Little, Grist�s former Muckraker columnist, is author of Power
Trip: The Story of America�s Love Affair with Energy.
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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Ethiopian Opposition Questions Construction of “Renaissance Dam

Ethiopian Opposition Questions Construction of �Renaissance Dam

http://www.ezega.com/News/NewsDetails.aspx?Page=heads&NewsID=2869


By Staff Reporters

April 26, 2011 (Ezega.com) -- The Ethiopian Federal Democratic Forum,
commonly known as Medrek, fears foreign aggression against the country
due to the construction of �Renaissance Dam", as the government calls
it. Medrek released an official statement questioning the government
about its preparedness to face any foreign aggression against the dam,
saying that hydro-politics is often a source of mounting conflicts in
the 21st century.

Medrek, which was the main opposition party before the recent
elections, asked the Ethiopian Government if it had taken Nile Basin
members into confidence about the construction of the dam. Raising
doubts about corruption, it also asked the government whether it had
prepared a mechanism to ensure that the public money was directed
toward the targeted project and that there was no frittering away of
the taxpayers� money by corrupt officials.

Medrek also called for reaching a national consensus on the
construction of the dam in Benishangul region, which will likely
generate 5,250-MW power. The government recently announced its
willingness to go ahead with the construction of the dam, which would
cost 80 billion birr, to exploit the abundant resources of energy in
the country. The government has rejected �unsubstantiated� claims as
they call it that the dam would cause significant harm to downstream
countries. It has assured Ethiopians that Egypt cannot do any harm to
the project, though Cairo has been successful in lobbying global
financial institutions from financing the project.

Touted to be the biggest hydropower plant in Africa, it is expected to
be completed in four years. Ethiopia is said to have over 45,000-MW
potential of hydropower. The Ethiopian Government will finance a major
chunk of the project. It also seeks remittances from overseas
Ethiopians under the GTP project. Further, the government has started
issuing Millennium Bond, giving five percent interest rate, to finance
the project.

The government of Prime Minister Meles has also declared that the dam,
which is at a low level, would do no harm to the Nile riparian states,
but rather, generate hydropower to meet the energy needs of these
countries. It further claims that the dam would prevent flooding and
siltation, which would actually help increase the flow of water in
rivers and their tributaries.

The Ethiopian Government terms Egypt an �obstacle� to its development.

The British Embassy in Ethiopia lauds Addis Ababa�s commitment to the
GTP and its proposal of constructing Renaissance Dam, saying that it
should do more to meet its energy demands by exploiting its huge
hydropower potential and building more dams. British Ambassado Norman
Ling agreed that the Nile waters should be equally apportioned among
its basin countries, facing energy crunch. He also intimated his
country�s promise to help Ethiopia�s development efforts, saying that
the United Kingdom might increase the development aid to Addis Ababa.
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Monday, April 25, 2011

Emerging Powers Harnessing Neighbours' Hydroelectricity

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=55252

Emerging Powers Harnessing Neighbours' Hydroelectricity
By Mario Osava*

RIO DE JANEIRO, Apr 13, 2011 (IPS) - Emerging countries like Brazil
and China are building numerous hydroelectric dams at home and abroad
to help drive their economic growth. But while in Latin America the
phenomenon is touted as an integration process, in Asia it has
generated tension over the shared use of rivers.

Brazil, the leader of this strategy in Latin America, has an agreement
to build five hydropower dams in Peru, and is interested in building
two similar plants, which would depend on reaching agreements with
Bolivia: a joint venture between the two countries on the stretch of
the Madeira river that forms part of the border between them, and a
Bolivian plant.

A large part of the energy generated by these projects will be
exported to Brazil, whose government projects an annual 5.9 percent
increase in demand for energy from now to 2019, when the country will
need 167,000 MW, over two-thirds of which will come from
hydroelectricity.

Building dams outside of the country is one way to evade stiff
opposition from environmentalists and indigenous groups in the
Brazilian Amazon, where nearly all of the country's as-yet untapped
hydropower potential is found.

Cachuela Esperanza on the Beni river in northern Bolivia, near the
Brazilian border, will have a potential of 990 MW, according to a
project drawn up by Tecsult, a leading Canadian consulting firm. That
is nearly the equivalent of Bolivia's entire demand for energy.

"It will only be profitable if more than 90 percent of the energy
generated is exported," Walter Justiniano, an engineer from the city
of Guayaramer�n, on Bolivia's northern border with Brazil, told IPS.

Distributing the energy within Bolivia would require the installation
of hundreds of kilometres of power lines, since the nearest city is
1,000 kilometres away, he said.

The proposed dam on the Ribeir�o rapids on the Madeira river, the
biggest tributary of the Amazon by volume as well as length, would
have a capacity of 3,000 MW - similar to the Itaip� dam, one of the
world's largest hydroelectric facilities, built 27 years ago by Brazil
on the border with Paraguay.

Paraguay has never been able to consume more than 10 percent of the
energy produced by Itaip�, although it is entitled to half.

The two projects are still in the feasibility study phase, according
to Alberto Tejada, manager of electricity generation at Bolivia's
state power company Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (ENDE).

The Cachuela Esperanza project depends on the evaluation of "technical
questions and policies of sovereignty, security and environmental
protection," Tejada told IPS. "Negotiations and arrangements for its
financing and construction are not far along," he admitted, although
Bolivian President Evo Morales expressed his interest in pushing the
project forward in January.

The Ribeir�o rapids project, meanwhile, depends on an agreement
between Bolivia and Brazil "as a guarantee of enforcement of the
treaties for the free navigation of international rivers," Tejada said.

A Bolivian team of experts is studying the hydroelectric potential of
three rivers in the basin shared with Brazil, which will serve as a
basis for the negotiations, he added.

The rivers to be dammed, in both Bolivia and Peru, are tributaries of
Brazil's major Amazon rivers, like the Madeira and the Solim�es.

The black hole of Asia

The situation is much more complex in Asia, where the Tibetan plateau
in China is the source of some of the world's largest rivers, which
flow towards India and Southeast Asia.

Growing demand in China is driving up energy consumption much faster
than in Brazil, because of the Asian giant's population of 1.3 billion
and economic growth of around 10 percent a year.

But the recent spate of dam-building by China is worrying others
downriver with dams and water needs of their own. There are
approximately 81 large Chinese hydropower projects on the upper
Yangtze, Mekong and Salween rivers.

Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam established the Mekong River
Commission (MRC) in 1995, to cooperate on sustainable management of
the river.

China's 21 dams on the upper Mekong are causing concern in the four
MRC countries, where a drought in the summer of 2009 reduced the
Mekong�s flow drastically enough to make the MRC suspect China of
hoarding the river's waters, causing scarcity downriver.

But the MRC's weak resistance to Chinese pressure has been harshly
criticised by organisations like the International Rivers Network (IRN).

In addition, Laos announced in March that it would build the Xayaburi
hydroelectric dam with a capacity to generate 1,260 MW, triggering
protests in Vietnam, which fears serious damages to agriculture and
fish farming in the Mekong delta.

But Xayaburi is just the first of 11 hydropower plant projects on the
Mekong river that the governments of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos are
considering, nine of them in Laos alone.

India's concerns over Chinese dams on the Yarlung Tsangpo (the upper
reaches of India's Brahmaputra river) echo similar worries over dams
being built in Nepal and Bhutan, where India in its turn is leveraging
its weight to access cheap electricity.

The larger countries in the region are thus using their economic clout
to harness the resources of smaller countries.

In Burma, dams being built by China, Thailand, India and Bangladesh
offer these countries an opportunity to access cheap electricity while
not being held responsible for the negative social, economic and
environmental impacts. Strong anti-dam movements in Thailand, for
example, make projects in Burma particularly attractive.

There are 29 hydropower projects in Burma with a total combined
capacity of 19,413 MW currently under construction and another 14,
with a capacity of 13.971 MW, in the planning stages. Ninety percent
of all power to be harnessed is for export.

Chinese firms are the biggest dam builders in the area, one more
example of how "China is emerging as a massive economic investor in
the region," Carl Middleton of IRN�s Mekong campaign told IPS.

Brazil, similar role, smaller scale

Brazil plays a similar role but on a smaller scale in Latin America,
where companies like Odebrecht, Andrade Gutierrez, Camargo Corr�a and
Queiroz Galv�o are involved in the largest dam-building projects.

But Brazil seeks to exercise a more subtle kind of power than China,
whose companies tend to bring in Chinese workers for projects abroad,
which limits the hiring and training of local labour power.

Nearly all of the countries of South America have an energy surplus,
untapped potential and sources like oil, hydroelectricity, natural gas
or coal. But "some states have natural resources, while they lack
capital or technology" to develop them, said Daniel Falc�n, a diplomat
in the Brazilian foreign ministry's division of non-renewable energy
resources.

These conditions justify the push for "energy integration," which
besides offering "complementarity," foments "understanding and mutual
familiarity among neighbours," he told IPS.

That is one of the top priority issues taken up by the Union of South
American Nations (UNASUR) since 2007. The regional bloc now has
guidelines and an action plan, and is negotiating an energy treaty.
"There are no initiatives like this anywhere else in the world, not
even in the European Union," Falc�n said.

The Cachuela Esperanza dam will represent additional revenue for the
Bolivian state, more energy for productive activities, and improved
living conditions in the country's northern Amazon jungle region,
while reducing the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity,
leading to a cut in greenhouse gas emissions, Tejada argued.

But it will also require a dam "almost as big as Itaip�," which will
flood rainforest in Bolivia, said Justiniano, the engineer from
Guayaramer�n. He concurs with other critics of the construction of
"Brazilian" hydropower plants in Bolivia and Peru, who consider them
unnecessary and destructive of the countries' rich biodiversity.

*With additional reporting by Franz Ch�vez in La Paz and Keya Acharya
in Bangalore. (END)
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Sunday, April 24, 2011

Sinohydro, CDB ink deal for Nam Ou cascade in Laos

Hydropower developers, bank ink finance deal
Vientiane Times, By Phonsavanh Vongsay
(Latest Update April 21, 2011)

The China Development Bank will provide funds or loans for the seven
hydropower plants to be built on the Nam Ou River in Phongsaly and Luang
Prabang provinces.

�The project is estimated to cost over 16 trillion kip (US$2 billion),�
an EDL senior official said.

He said EDL, on behalf of the Lao government, will hold a share of 15
percent and Sino will hold 85 percent.

However the investors have not decided when construction will start
because �we will have to discuss or negotiate further details on the
loans,� the official said.

The two developers are also in negotiations for the power purchase
agreement. �The generated electricity will be sold to the EDL power grid
to supply the local market and for export to Thailand, Vietnam and
China,� he said.

The project will take place in two phases. Phase one will consist of
three dams, mainly in Luang Prabang.

The second phase will build four dams in Phongsaly province.

�Based on the plan, we hope phase one will be completed and will have
begun commercial operations by 2016,� he said.

The finance agreement was signed after Sinohydro signed a master plan
for the Nam Ou hydropower development project with the Planning and
Investment Ministry last week.

Under the plan, Sinohydro will build two major reservoirs and seven
hydropower plants along the 475km Nam Ou - one of the largest
tributaries of the Mekong.

The river rises in China and runs through Phongsaly province before
entering the Mekong River at Pak Ou in Luang Prabang province.

When operational, the seven power stations will have a total production
capacity of 1,156 megawatts (MW), generating 5 billion kilowatts hours a
year of electricity.

Sinohydro is negotiating a concession agreement with the Lao government
and hopes to finalise the document by the middle of this year.

The developer signed the project agreement with the Lao government in
2007 and renewed it in early 2010. The company presented a project
feasibility report to the government at the end of 2010.

According to the feasibility study, the Nam Ou will be able to supply
enough water to power the plants as it runs through mountainous forested
areas and valleys and has 11 major tributaries.

Warm moist air from the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea also bring
much rainfall to the river area.

Laos will witness the opening of at least two new power plants each 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.
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Africa's Energy sector gets a BRICS boost

Energy sector gets a BRICS boost
Chinese to send high-level delegation to explore opportunities in
Africa�s energy sector
DES LATHAM
Business Day (South Africa), 2011/04/23 03:52:57 PM

A high-level Chinese delegation led by Secretary General of the China
Electricity Council (CEC), Wang Zhixuan is to travel to South Africa in
June to "explore opportunities" in the sector.

That�s after President Jacob Zuma �s visit in April to China, where he
attended a BRICS, or Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa Leaders�
Summit.

China Development Bank has also recently announced its to channel
$1,5-billion to China�s BRICS partners to fund infrastructure projects.

CEC will lead a group of top Chinese power companies to participate at
Energex Africa expo in June.

The delegation is expected to include specialists in power generation,
transmission and distribution and the fields include conventional
thermal and hydro power generation, to renewable energy such as wind and
solar power.

Chinese expertise lies in coal-fired power stations, and the country has
targeted new power generation methods such as solar and hydro-electric
schemes for growth.

Irrigation experts such as HydroChina Kunming Engineering Corporation
will join the delegation and plans to explore engineering, procurement,
construction, project management and inspection of hydropower,
irrigation, wind and solar power projects.
________________________________________________

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international dam projects.

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Africa's Energy sector gets a BRICS boost

Energy sector gets a BRICS boost
Chinese to send high-level delegation to explore opportunities in
Africa�s energy sector
DES LATHAM
Business Day (South Africa), 2011/04/23 03:52:57 PM

A high-level Chinese delegation led by Secretary General of the China
Electricity Council (CEC), Wang Zhixuan is to travel to South Africa in
June to "explore opportunities" in the sector.

That�s after President Jacob Zuma �s visit in April to China, where he
attended a BRICS, or Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa Leaders�
Summit.

China Development Bank has also recently announced its to channel
$1,5-billion to China�s BRICS partners to fund infrastructure projects.

CEC will lead a group of top Chinese power companies to participate at
Energex Africa expo in June.

The delegation is expected to include specialists in power generation,
transmission and distribution and the fields include conventional
thermal and hydro power generation, to renewable energy such as wind and
solar power.

Chinese expertise lies in coal-fired power stations, and the country has
targeted new power generation methods such as solar and hydro-electric
schemes for growth.

Irrigation experts such as HydroChina Kunming Engineering Corporation
will join the delegation and plans to explore engineering, procurement,
construction, project management and inspection of hydropower,
irrigation, wind and solar power projects.
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Sinohydro seeks compensation for Nepal project

Hydropower contractor seeks compensation
Nepalnews.com, April 22, 2011
http://nepalnews.com/archive/2011/apr/apr22/news15.php

Sino Hydropower Company, contractor of Kulekhani Hydropower Project III,
has demanded compensation from the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)
citing losses due to delay in the works at the project following
obstacles from the locals and workers.

The company has also demanded extension of the project duration by one
more year as works of the project can't be completed within the
projected period.

The contractor has demanded compensation at a time when not even half of
the works at the 14-MW project has been completed.

The cost of the project is projected at Rs. 2.43 billion which should be
completed with in 44 months from the start of the project as per the
contract.

Of the total investment, NEA will bear 75 percent of the cost while the
remaining investment is from the government.
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Sinohydro seeks compensation for Nepal project

Hydropower contractor seeks compensation
Nepalnews.com, April 22, 2011
http://nepalnews.com/archive/2011/apr/apr22/news15.php

Sino Hydropower Company, contractor of Kulekhani Hydropower Project III,
has demanded compensation from the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)
citing losses due to delay in the works at the project following
obstacles from the locals and workers.

The company has also demanded extension of the project duration by one
more year as works of the project can't be completed within the
projected period.

The contractor has demanded compensation at a time when not even half of
the works at the 14-MW project has been completed.

The cost of the project is projected at Rs. 2.43 billion which should be
completed with in 44 months from the start of the project as per the
contract.

Of the total investment, NEA will bear 75 percent of the cost while the
remaining investment is from the government.
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Thursday, April 21, 2011

China's dams: both welcome and worrying

China's dams: both welcome and worrying
Daniel Bardsley (Foreign Correspondent)
The National (UAE), Apr 22, 2011
www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/asia-pacific/chinas-dams-both-welcome-and-worrying

BEIJING // The building of the Gilgel Gibe III dam on the Omo River in
Ethiopia, upstream from Lake Turkana, will do much more than affect the
water flow, an African environmentalist said as she brought her message
to China this week.

With flow into the lake affected by the partly Chinese-funded dam,
rising salinity will make the water undrinkable and kill the fish
indigenous people rely upon for food, fears Ikal Angelei, director of
the Kenyan group, Friends of Lake Turkana.

"The resources are already strained enough. Any further strain would
cause deaths and conflict," said Ms Angelei, one of three campaigners
who spoke to journalists in Beijing this week to raise concerns over the
environmental and human cost of some of the many dam projects in the
developing world being financed or built by Chinese interests.

According to the US-based International Rivers, Chinese companies have
signed contracts or memoranda of understanding for at least 250 dam
projects in 68 countries, and the state-owned Sinohydro claims to have
more than half the global market for hydropower projects.

China's dominance in hydropower projects is just part of a wider
expansion of the activities of Chinese companies in the developing
world, particularly Africa, where access to natural resources is often
given in return for the building of infrastructure.

The Gilgel Gibe III dam project, which is costing US$2.1 billion (Dh7.7
billion), has proved controversial enough that the World Bank and the
European Investment Bank, among others, are not providing funding.

Instead, a Chinese bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China,
the world's largest bank by market capitalisation, has helped the
multibillion-dollar project get off the ground by underwriting the work
of the Chinese contractor Dongfang Electric Corporation.

"We urge ICBC to reconsider its position. They're putting this money
where everybody else has walked away from the project," added Ms Angelei.

"Because of the impact it will have on the communities, they will be
indirectly starting a war in this part of Africa."

While acknowledging some of China's overseas development projects can
"bring a lot of benefits for host countries", Peter Bosshard, policy
director for International Rivers, said other schemes were carried out
without environmental impact assessments or involved "serious human
rights violations".

"There is often a lack of transparency and consultations, particularly
with civil society groups and host countries," he said.

Controversy over China's overseas dam building comes at a time of
heightened concern regarding hydropower projects within the country's
borders.

In particular, dam-building on rivers such as the Mekong that originate
in the Tibetan plateau has led to worries in countries downstream that
water flows will be disrupted and the risk of natural disasters increased.

Other Asian countries, too, have angered neighbours with their
hydropower schemes. This week Laos postponed the go-ahead for a dam on
the lower Mekong because of opposition.

Yet China's overseas hydropower schemes remain a key focus for
controversy not least because there are so many of them.

There have been cases where a Chinese bank has "taken up a loan that
nobody else would touch", according to Johan Frijns, co-ordinator for
the Dutch-based pressure group Bank Track.

Some Chinese banks, he said, were making "a lot of effort to [promote]
sustainability" within their home country, yet overseas their activities
sometimes led to "a really disappointing situation".

"We call upon Chinese banks to apply the policies that are routinely
applied in China when they are investing abroad," he said.

"Chinese banks [should] make sure the clients they serve adopt standards
of environmental protection and human rights."

Although some Chinese companies have agreed to follow Chinese laws when
working overseas, said International Rivers' Dr Bosshard, many companies
felt social responsibility was not their concern, especially if they
were not the main contractor on a project. Campaigners say they often
struggle to get a response when their concerns are raised. Some
opposition to Chinese dam-building overseas was because observers were
"not accustomed to the rise of China", according to Zhang Haibin, an
associate professor in Peking University's Centre for International and
Strategic Studies whose main research interest is international
environmental politics.

"They are unable to adapt to the new phenomenon - the rise of China.
They're doubtful or they're concerned or they're nervous," Dr Zhang said
by telephone.

Chinese companies are launching projects in Latin America or Africa at
the initiative of these nations' governments, he added.

"I meet delegates of these countries and they say, 'You're very much
welcome because you're helping us to fight against climate change by
building these dams,'" he said.

dbardsley@thenational.ae
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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Honduras Signs Deal with Chinese Firm on Hydro Plant

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=391935&CategoryId=23558

Honduras Signs Deal with Chinese Firm on Hydro Plant

Latin American Herald Tribune

TEGUCIGALPA � The government and China�s Sinohydro signed a contract
worth $50.5 million to begin construction of one of the three
hydroelectric power plants on the Patuca River in the eastern region of
Honduras, officials said.

The contract covers the preparatory phase for the Patuca III power plant
and includes the building of the tunnel diverting river water,
construction of a camp, the building of access roads and construction of
a quarry, the manager of Honduran state-owned utility ENEE, Roberto
Martinez Lozano, said.

The document was signed Saturday night in Tegucigalpa with a delegation
from Sinohydro, Martinez Lozano said.

Preparatory work for the project could begin in the middle of this year,
the ENEE executive said.

The first power plant, which will have a generating capacity of 104 MW,
is expected to cost about $350 million and begin operating in 2014,
Martinez Lozano said.

The Honduran government and Sinohydro signed a memorandum of
understanding on Sept. 8 for construction of the three hydroelectric
power plants on the Patuca River.

Sinohydro will obtain funding from Chinese financial institutions for
construction of the three power plants, which will have total generating
capacity of 524 MW.

The Patuca River projects are part of the renewable energy program being
developed by the government to reduce dependence on thermal energy
plants, which account for 60 percent of the country's 1,400 MW of
installed generating capacity, Martinez Lozano said. EFE
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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Chinese firm to build seven power plants on Nam Ou

http://www.vientianetimes.la/FreeContent/free_Chinese.htm

Chinese firm to build seven power plants on Nam Ou
Vientiane Times

A Chinese company plans to build seven hydropower plants along the Nam
Ou River, one of the largest tributaries of the Mekong.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Thongmy Phomvixay and
Sinohydro Ltd Deputy Managing Director Sen De Cai signed a master plan
for the Nam Ou hydropower development project on Monday.

Under the plan, Sinohydro will build two major reservoirs and seven
hydropower plants along the 475 km Nam Ou River. The river rises in
China and runs through Phongsaly province before entering the Mekong
River at Pak Ou in Luang Prabang province.

Once completed, the seven power stations will have a total production
capacity of 1156MW, generating 5 billion kilowatt hours a year. The
power will be sold to Electricite du Laos for domestic consumption -
specifically in the north of the country - and to Thailand, Vietnam and
China.

Sinohydro will initially build three power plants along the Nam Ou
River. The construction of the remaining power plants will depend on the
demand for electricity in Laos.

According to a senior official from the Ministry of Planning and
Investment's Investment Promotion Department, Sinohydro will use the
master plan as a framework for signing agreements with the government to
develop power plants in the future.

Sinohydro cannot build all seven power stations at the same time due to
the high construction cost and low demand for electricity. The Lao
government is required to sign the master plan so the company can begin
development along the Nam Ou River.

Sinohydro says it is negotiating a concession agreement with the Lao
government and hopes to finalise the document by the middle of this
year. The company also says it expects to sign a finance agreement with
Electricite du Laos and China Development Bank this month.

The developer signed the project agreement with the Lao government in
2007 and renewed it in early 2010. The company presented a project
feasibility report to the government at the end of 2010.

According to the feasibility study, the Nam Ou will be able to supply
enough water to power the plants as it runs through mountainous forested
areas and valleys and has 11 major tributaries. Warm moist air from the
Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea also bring much rainfall to the
river area.

By Ekaphone Phouthonesy
(Latest Update April 13, 2011)
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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Pledge for more hydropower by 2015

Pledge for more hydropower by 2015
Global Times
April 11, 2011

http://business.globaltimes.cn/industries/2011-04/642872.html

China will put more hydropower into use over the next five years, in an effort to transform the country's energy consumption model, according to the Bureau of Energy under the National Development and Reform Commission.

By the end of 2015, China will have begun work on projects providing an extra 120 megawatts in hydropower capacity.

Liu Qi, deputy director of the bureau, said that hydropower still faces problems, including low efficiency and finding suitable sites for projects.


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Congo's Energy Divide: new fact sheet

International Rivers has just published a new fact sheet entitled:
"Congo's Energy Divide: Hydropower For Mines and Export, Not the
Poor." The full fact sheet can be downloaded or read online here: http://www.internationalrivers.org/node/6401

Here is a short summary:
The Democratic Republic of Congo is rebuilding its power grid as part
of the war-torn country's reconstruction. Originally built to power
copper mines, the grid reaches just 6% of the nation's people and
bypasses some of its biggest cities. Rather than improve its citizens'
access to electricity, the government plans to provide electricity
from the rehabilitated power grid and new dam projects for mining and
exports to South Africa and other countries. The rehabilitation's slow
pace, ballooning costs and emphasis on energy exports raise serious
concerns that it will only perpetuate Congo's great energy divide.
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Monday, April 11, 2011

Assessing the true value of water in Southern Africa

 

Assessing the true value of water in Southern Africa

 WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA - Apr 04 2011 07:05
comments 3 comments | Post your comment
 
"Economic accounting of water combines different factors relating to water use such as hydrology, economic assessment of water resources, pollution and social distribution. It is a multidimensional system," says Sullivan.

"It doesn't just look at the hydrological component or the economic returns, but also takes ecological sustainability and equity into account. So it is a step up from either taking a purely hydrological, economic or ecological point of view. It is an attempt to plan and manage water resources on a basin level in the best possible way."

"Although EAW is a critical tool for efficient and effective management of water resources," says Manase, "it is not yet widely applied in the SADC region." At present, only Namibia, Botswana, Mauritius and South Africa are compiling water accounts at varying levels of detail.

More accurate assessment of the role water plays in the economy -- and the effects of economic uses of water on present and future availability -- will aid comparison of benefits across sectors and accurately document inefficient use. It could also help water managers make a strong case for investment in water infrastructure.

"Water accounting started as a research tool, but it is slowly moving on to be a useful tool to inform policy-making," says Sullivan. "It is still early days, the potential of economic water accounting has not yet been reached, but as the models get more detailed and allow for elaborate scenario-testing EAW will be better suited for decision-making." -- Sapa-IPS

Friday, April 8, 2011

Activists fight to stop dam across Mekong

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jkeU-Ut5OdMYtkP54sKm1O14GxlQ?docId=7b2d53bc10ce418ba94d11391dcb0cac

Activists fight to stop dam across Mekong
(AP) � 8 hours ago

BANGKOK (AP) � A plan for the first dam across the Mekong River
anywhere in its meandering path through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam has set off a major environmental battle in
Southeast Asia.

The $3.5 billion Xayaburi dam is slated for the wilds of northern Laos
and would generate power mostly for sale to Thailand. The project pits
villagers, activists and the Vietnamese media against Thai interests
and the Laotian government in its hopes of earning foreign exchange in
one of the world's poorest countries.

A decision on whether the dam gets the green light, is axed or
deferred for further studies is expected April 19 during a meeting in
the Laotian capital among Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Opponents warn it could open the way for 10 more dams being considered
along the lower Mekong.

"Our lives and livelihoods depend on the health of the Mekong River,"
said Kamol Konpin, mayor of the Thai riverside town of Chiang Khan.

"As local people have already suffered from dams built upstream in
China and watched the ecosystem change, we are afraid that the
Xayaburi dam will bring more suffering."

China has placed three dams across the upper reaches of the Mekong,
but otherwise its 3,000-mile (4,900-kilometer) mainstream flows free.

The Xayaburi would cut across a stretch of the river flanked by
forested hills, cliffs and hamlets where ethnic minority groups
reside, forcing the resettlement of up 2,100 villagers and impacting
tens of thousands of others.

Environmentalists say such a dam would disrupt fish migrations, block
nutrients for downstream farming and even foul Vietnam's rice bowl by
slowing the river's speed and allowing saltwater to creep into the
Mekong River Delta.

A Thai firm would build the 1,260 megawatt hydroelectric project.
However, Thai villagers along the river are staging protests and
planning to deliver letters to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva
and the Lao Embassy in Bangkok, where the Thai government has
maintained an official silence on the issue.

Pianporn Deetes, of the U.S.-based International Rivers, said
environmentalists are ready to take their case to court if Abhisit
doesn't deliver a positive response.

Last month, 263 non-governmental organizations from 51 countries sent
letters to the governments of Laos and Thailand urging that the
project be shelved.

Laos said in February that the Xayaburi would be the "first
environmentally friendly hydroelectric project on the Mekong" and that
will "not have any significant impact on the Mekong mainstream."

"We are excited about this project," the statement said.

Vietnam's official media, in a rare disagreement with its communist
neighbor, has blasted the dam, while scientists and environmental
groups have called for its construction to be delayed for 10 years
until more research is conducted.

"It seems that countries of the lower Mekong still haven't learned
lessons from the impact of the Chinese dams," Pianporn said. "Xayaburi
is so important because it could set off the destruction of the lower
Mekong."

Since 2007, there have been proposals to put up 11 mainstream dams in
Cambodia and Laos.

The Mekong River Commission, set up by the four Southeast Asian
neighbors in 1995 to manage the river, has expressed serious
reservations about Xayaburi. A study by the group recommended a 10-
year moratorium on all mainstream dams, a stand supported by U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a Southeast Asian trip
earlier this year.

The commission cited feared damage to migrations of between 23 and 100
fish species, among a host of other environmental problems.

Another MRC document showed nobody spoke in favor of the dam during
public consultations this year in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand,
while many officials, academics and residents cited problems or lack
of information about the project. No consultation was held in Laos.

"If this project goes ahead it would be unimaginably irresponsible,"
said Ame Trandem of Rivers International.

Somkiat Khuengchiangsa, who has spent his life along the river and
heads The Mekong-Lanna Natural Resources and Culture Conservation
Network, said governments are more interested in the economics of the
project than its effect on residents.

"Rivers are not the property of nations or groups of people. They
belong to all mankind," he said.

Copyright � 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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ADB to invest in Upper Seti hydro project

ADB to invest in Upper Seti hydro project

The Kathmandu Post daily 2011-04-08 http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-
post/2011/04/07/money/adb-to-invest-in-upper-seti-hydro-project/220364.html

KATHMANDU, APR 07 -

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said that it is willing to invest in
the 127 MW Upper Seti Hydroelectric Project located in Damauli in Tanahun
district.

The government of Nepal and the ADB reached an understanding to this effect
during ADB Vice President Xiaoyu Zhao’s recent visit to Nepal when he met
with Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal and Finance Minister Bharat Mohan
Adhikari.

“Vice President Zhao told the prime minister and the finance minister about
ADB’s willingness to invest in the project,” said ADB Country Director
Barry Hitchcock. “This project is attractive for us as it already has a road and
other infrastructure,” added Hitchcock. As per the ADB’s estimate, the total cost
of the project would be around US$ 300 million (Rs 21 billion).

On Dec. 23, 2010, the ADB and the government signed an agreement under
which the bank would provide a technical grant of Rs 180 million to do a detailed
study for the project. “The ADB could also issue a loan for the project,” said
Hitchcock. According to the government, the ADB’s technical assistance will
be used to conduct a detailed engineering study including development of
design options, specifications and drawings for the civil works, development of
design options, specifications and drawings for the electromechanical and hydro-
mechanical works and transmission facilities and the bidding process.

In 2006-07, the Nepal Electricity Authority completed an upgrading
feasibility study for the project with technical assistance from the Japanese
government through JICA. After the detailed engineering study is finished in 2012, the
project is expected to go into the construction phase. It is projected to
be completed by 2016-2017 if everything goes as planned.

The Upper Seti is one of the few storage-type hydropower projects that has
been identified as a national priority project by the government and recommended
for further implementation by the last two national budgets.

When asked if the ADB would be willing to invest in the 750 MW West Seti
Hydroelectric Project too, Hitchcock said the bank was positive about
investing in it. “We’ve not talked about it,” added Hitchcock. “But if the government
shows interest, we can discuss it.”

The government stated that the West Seti project located in Doti district
would be constructed to address domestic energy demand when unveiling the energy
crisis control programme. The programme has also envisioned constructing
one 100 MW project each in the five development regions on a turn-key basis.

West Seti Hydro Power Company Limited (WSHPL), promoter of the West Seti
Hydropower Project, had proposed building it under the public-private-
partnership (PPP) model after failing to put together the required
resources.

WSHPL has filed an application at the Department of Electricity Development
to extend the deadline for financial closure of the project. The ADB had
earlier shown interest in the project.


ADB to invest in Upper Seti hydro project

ADB to invest in Upper Seti hydro project

The Kathmandu Post daily 2011-04-08 http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-
post/2011/04/07/money/adb-to-invest-in-upper-seti-hydro-project/220364.html

KATHMANDU, APR 07 -

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said that it is willing to invest in
the 127 MW Upper Seti Hydroelectric Project located in Damauli in Tanahun
district.

The government of Nepal and the ADB reached an understanding to this effect
during ADB Vice President Xiaoyu Zhao’s recent visit to Nepal when he met
with Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal and Finance Minister Bharat Mohan
Adhikari.

“Vice President Zhao told the prime minister and the finance minister about
ADB’s willingness to invest in the project,” said ADB Country Director
Barry Hitchcock. “This project is attractive for us as it already has a road and
other infrastructure,” added Hitchcock. As per the ADB’s estimate, the total cost
of the project would be around US$ 300 million (Rs 21 billion).

On Dec. 23, 2010, the ADB and the government signed an agreement under
which the bank would provide a technical grant of Rs 180 million to do a detailed
study for the project. “The ADB could also issue a loan for the project,” said
Hitchcock. According to the government, the ADB’s technical assistance will
be used to conduct a detailed engineering study including development of
design options, specifications and drawings for the civil works, development of
design options, specifications and drawings for the electromechanical and hydro-
mechanical works and transmission facilities and the bidding process.

In 2006-07, the Nepal Electricity Authority completed an upgrading
feasibility study for the project with technical assistance from the Japanese
government through JICA. After the detailed engineering study is finished in 2012, the
project is expected to go into the construction phase. It is projected to
be completed by 2016-2017 if everything goes as planned.

The Upper Seti is one of the few storage-type hydropower projects that has
been identified as a national priority project by the government and recommended
for further implementation by the last two national budgets.

When asked if the ADB would be willing to invest in the 750 MW West Seti
Hydroelectric Project too, Hitchcock said the bank was positive about
investing in it. “We’ve not talked about it,” added Hitchcock. “But if the government
shows interest, we can discuss it.”

The government stated that the West Seti project located in Doti district
would be constructed to address domestic energy demand when unveiling the energy
crisis control programme. The programme has also envisioned constructing
one 100 MW project each in the five development regions on a turn-key basis.

West Seti Hydro Power Company Limited (WSHPL), promoter of the West Seti
Hydropower Project, had proposed building it under the public-private-
partnership (PPP) model after failing to put together the required
resources.

WSHPL has filed an application at the Department of Electricity Development
to extend the deadline for financial closure of the project. The ADB had
earlier shown interest in the project.


Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Burst of New Dams in Southwest China Produces Power and Public Ire

Burst of New Dams in Southwest China Produces Power and Public Ire
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
By Rachel Beitarie, Circle of Blue

For photographs, maps and other related articles from Choke Point:
China, see:
http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2011/world/burst-of-new-dams-in-southwest-china-produces-power-and-public-ire/

CHENGDU, China—Even in China, where power plants, coal mines,
water-transport networks, and other big tools of industrialization are
built at astonishing scale and with surprising speed, the hydropower dam
construction program in Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet, and other southwest
provinces has no equal in China, or anywhere else for that matter.

Here in Suijiang County—a remote and mountainous region on the border
between Sichuan and Yunnan provinces—the immense scope of the most
aggressive dam-building program in history is immediately apparent. Near
the county's center, an army of men and equipment is building the
Xiangjiaba Dam, a wall of concrete and steel that is 909 meters (2,982
feet) long and 161 meters (528 feet) high.

When completed in 2015, the dam will house eight turbines capable of
generating just over 6.4 gigawatts. It will be the fourth-largest
hydropower plant in China and one of the 20 largest power plants of any
kind in the world, according to industry figures.

Immense as it is, the Xiangjiaba Dam is just one of a dozen hydropower
projects of similar scale in what Chinese engineers call a "cascade" of
electricity-generating projects that have been approved for the Jinsha
River—a 2,300-kilometer section of the Yangtze River in Sichuan
Province. An even larger project, the 278-meter-tall (911-foot) Xiluodo
Dam, is nearing completion downstream and will have the capacity to
generate 12.6 GW of electricity. Taken together, the 12 Jinsha River
dams will be capable of generating 59 GW, or nearly as much power as all
4,000 hydroelectric generating stations in the United States.

China already operates half of the world's large hydropower dams, and
there are more on the way—many more.

Along China's midsection, the upper Yangtze River and five of its
tributaries have 100 big dams that are in various stages of planning,
engineering, and construction. Additionally, at least 43 big dams are in
the same stages of development on the Lancang, Nujiang, Hongshui, and
Jiulong rivers in China's southwest.

Big Risk, Big Reward

The stakes for China's dam-building campaign encompass every sector of
the economy, as well as a historical and ecological heritage that spans
seven southern provinces. The provincial and central government leaders
who support China's program to tame wild rivers with concrete, steel,
and stone assert that hydropower provides considerable benefits to
reduce air pollution, rein in coal consumption, and generate electricity
for fast-growing cities and industries.

But opponents say the dams are wrecking treasured canyons, ruining
fisheries, and displacing hundreds of thousands of residents. Some
critics worry that most of China's new big dams are being built in a
seismically active region that has experienced a number of big
earthquakes, including one in May 2008 that killed 80,000 people in
Sichuan Province. A number of scientists theorized that the weight of
the lake held back by the 760-MW Zipingpu Dam—built less than two
kilometers from a major fault line—may have helped to trigger the disaster.

Just as significantly, opponents note that China is planning to generate
a considerable portion of its energy from hydropower, relying on rivers
that are becoming more susceptible to droughts. Because of climate
change, say scientists, China's southern region is experiencing longer
and more numerous droughts that are lowering water levels.

From 2000 to 2009, China's total water resources fell 13 percent and
almost all of the reduction in rain and snowmelt occurred in southern
and southwestern China. From 2004 to 2009, total water reserves in
Sichuan Province alone dropped 102 million cubic meters (26.9 billion
gallons), or 4 percent, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics.

In 2009 and 2010, a severe drought in southern China nearly shut down
the 6.4-GW Longtan Hydropower Station—China's second largest—because of
low flows in the Hongshui River of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,
which shares a border with Vietnam. According to Chen Deqing, the
plant's deputy chief, the $US 4.2 billion plant generated 30 percent
less electricity in 2009 than had been anticipated for that year and 59
percent less in the first quarter of 2010 than in the same period during
the year before.

Other utilities experienced similar power reductions. The Guizhou
Qianyuan Power Company, which operates a number of southern China dams,
reported that water flow to its plants had dropped 30 to 60 percent last
year. That drop had reduced power production by 230 million kilowatt
hours, enough to supply a city of 15,000 people for a year.

"I don't oppose dams as such" said Yang Yong, founder of the Hengduan
Mountain Society and a prominent researcher of western China's rivers
for more than two decades. "But the risk I see in those projects is that
there are so many of them being built all at the same time, and there is
no comprehensive scientific research as for the overall impact, even if
there are assessments for every project separately."

Plentiful Mountains, Canyons, and Rivers

Such issues, though, have not slowed China's fervor for new dam
projects. If anything, in recent months, its ambition has grown stronger.

Just seven years ago, China's hydroelectric-generating capacity reached
100 GW, surpassing the United States as the world's top hydropower
producer. Last year, according to China's National Energy
Administration, hydropower capacity reached 213 GW. By 2020, said the
agency, Chinese turbines will generate 400 GW.

Dam construction has helped to make China's cement and steel markets the
world's largest. It has also produced unusually active and visible
political defiance, as residents protest being moved to make way for the
big storage lakes formed by the dams.

Preservationists mourn the loss of magnificent mountain canyons, and
environmental scientists declare the damage to fisheries and wild
habitat will be incalculable. Still, China's leadership, which had
temporarily suspended some big dams pending more careful environmental
reviews, is expressing new determination to reach their hydropower
generation goals. Their calculus takes into consideration a swarm of big
economic, energy, water-supply, geopolitical, and demographic trends
that more hydropower development could help untangle, according to
officials.

The China National Energy Administration claims that by 2020, the 400 GW
of hydro-generating capacity will replace 1.3 billion metric tons of
coal annually, eliminate 2.3 billion metric tons of climate-changing
carbon emissions every year, and help China meet its target of producing
15 percent of the nation's energy with "clean" sources by 2020.

Before he retired earlier this year, Zhang Guobao, the former
administrator of the National Energy Administration, told the People's
Daily that he supported dam building because China's runaway coal
production was a national concern.

"I don't think it is right for us to exhaust the coal reserves," said
Zhang, "as we must leave some room for development for future generations."

Risk of Protests and Protesting Risks

The Jinsha River, or "River of Golden Sands," is the name of the
2,300-kilometer (1,400-mile) section of the upper Yangtze River, from
Yushu in Qinghai Province to Yibin in Sichuan, where the dam-building
spree is occurring. The river and its tributaries cut through mountains
to form spectacular canyons that are home to myriad ethnic minority
groups and some of China's most diverse wildlife habitat.

Along with the 12 dams in the works for the Jinsha River, 21 more are
planned on the Min River, 21 on the Yalong River, and 17 on the Dadu
River. In addition, 18 big dams are planned or are underway on the
Qingyi River, 11 on the Litang, and six on the Jiulong.

Local residents are well aware of the consequences for getting in the
way of the projects. In 2004, more than 100,000 people protested the
Pubugou Dam project in Sichuan Province until riot police crushed the
demonstration. Then, in 2006, Chen Tao—a leader of the protests from two
years before—was executed for what authorities said was his role in the
death of a policeman.

The 3,300-MW dam was completed a year ago.

Environmental Costs Concern Top Leaders

Police response to opposition hasn't stopped local residents or the
country's top leaders—including Premier Wen Jiabao—from asking questions
about such a breathtakingly big construction program.

In 2004, Wen halted development on 13 dams along Yunnan Province's Nu
River. This move was in response to a rapid and aggressive campaign by
Chinese NGOs and journalists that catalyzed national debate over dam
building. This domestic campaign further ignited international criticism
of the environmental damage to such a globally significant wild river.
Wen repeated his concerns in 2009 for the same reasons.

But China's soaring energy demand, and its national goals of producing
more clean energy that reduces climate changing carbon emissions,
prompted China's powerful National Development and Reform Commission
late last year to call for dam development on the Nu River to proceed.
Last week, the order halting the Nu River dams was lifted after China's
new 12th Five-Year Plan set ambitious energy-efficiency,
renewable-energy, and water-conservation goals.

"We believe the Nu River can be developed, and we hope that progress can
be made," Shi Lishan, the deputy director of new energy at the National
Energy Administration, told Chinese National Radio in February.

In June 2009, the China Ministry of Environmental Protection suspended
construction of two big projects upstream on the Jinsha River. The
1,800-MW Longkaikou Dam and the 2,100-MW Ludila Dam projects were
delayed because the developers—Huaneng Power and Huadian Power, two of
the largest power producers in China—did not conduct environmental
reviews prior to the start of construction.

Still, under pressure from provincial authorities and dam developers,
these projects resumed last year on the Jinsha River.

Dam Construction Results in Water Shortages

Sichuan—a province slightly bigger than California with a population of
80 million—is said by Chinese engineers to have the second-largest
hydroelectric potential of all Chinese provinces, behind Tibet. The
reason goes beyond the scenic canyons that distinguish the province.

Water resources in Sichuan historically have totaled around 240 billion
cubic meters (63 trillion gallons), or 10 percent of China's total
freshwater reserves. But the abundance of water, which gave the province
its name—"Four Rivers"—is running low in some sectors, in part due to
climate change that is affecting rainfall and snowmelt, in part due to
heavy pollution that has ruined supplies, and in part as the result of
hydroelectric production.

Chengdu, the provincial capital, is now counted among the 400 Chinese
cities that experience water scarcity, says Tian Jun, the executive
secretary of Chengdu's Urban Rivers Association.

"While the urban population continues to grow, Chengdu is getting less
and less water every year," she said.

Professor Ai Nanshan—a geologist from Sichuan University and president
of the Urban Rivers Association—told Circle of Blue that when it comes
to the confrontation between energy demand and water supply, the former
most often prevails in growth-driven China.

"Some dams, like those on the Min River, and like the Xiangjiaba Dam,
are supposed to have a triple function," Ai said. "They are used for
power generation, but are also supposed to play a role in flood control,
and the reservoirs behind them were supposed to be used for water storage.

"In reality, during the dry season, the reservoir of the Zipingpu Dam on
the Min River is supposed to supply water to Chengdu, but it is also
used to keep generating power. That task takes priority over the water
needs of the population. The government is weighing both interests, but
economic gain from hydropower proves a big temptation."

The irony, say environmental and energy authorities, is that pursuing
new dam construction in a region that is slowly getting dryer—thus
reducing hydropower capacity—could prompt China to become even more
aggressive in developing coal-fired energy production.

Professor Chen Guojie, a researcher at the Sichuan Mountain Hazards and
Environment in Chengdu and an affiliate of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences, summed up the conflicting trends this way: "The dams are built
to provide energy for the next hundred years, according to plans based
on current natural conditions. But these conditions are changing fast.
Not taking climate change into account means that not only are the dams
in Sichuan province harmful for the environment, they might very well
prove dysfunctional in the not-so-distant future."

Rachel Beitarie is an Israeli journalist based in Beijing. This is her
first article for Circle of Blue. Map and graphic by Kelly Shea, Tessa
Tillett, Malik Cato, and Elizabeth Spangler, undergraduate students at
Ball State University.

Toby Smith is a British photojournalist represented by Reportage by
Getty Images who specializes in global energy and environment matters.
His further work can be viewed on his website and he can be reached at:
toby@shootunit.com

Contributions by Keith Schneider, Traverse City-based senior editor for
Circle of Blue, and Jennifer Turner, Washington, D.C.-based director of
the China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson International Center
for Scholars. Reach Schneider at keith@circleofblue.org.
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Solar Power May Already Rival Coal, Prompting Installation Surge

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-05/solar-energy-costs-may-already-rival-coal-spurring-installation-boom.html

Solar Power May Already Rival Coal, Prompting Installation Surge
By Ehren Goossens - Apr 5, 2011 9:00 PM PT

April 6 (Bloomberg) -- Katrina Landis, chief executive officer of BP
Plc's alternative-energy unit, discusses the outlook for the London-
based company's investments in clean energy. Landis spoke yesterday
with Erik Schatzker at the 2011 Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit.
(Source: Bloomberg)

Solar panel installations may surge in the next two years as the cost
of generating electricity from the sun rivals coal-fueled plants,
industry executives and analysts said.

Large photovoltaic projects will cost $1.45 a watt to build by 2020,
half the current price, Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimated today.
The London-based research company says solar is viable against fossil
fuels on the electric grid in the most sunny regions such as the
Middle East.

�We are already in this phase change and are very close to grid
parity,� Shawn Qu, chief executive officer of Canadian Solar Inc.
(CSIQ), said in an interview. �In many markets, solar is already
competitive with peak electricity prices, such as in California and
Japan.�

Chinese companies such as JA Solar Holdings Ltd., Canadian Solar and
Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. are making panels cheaper, fueled by
better cell technology and more streamlined manufacturing processes.
That�s making solar economical in more places and will put it in
competition with coal, without subsidies, in the coming years, New
Energy Finance said.

�The most powerful driver in our industry is the relentless reduction
of cost,� Michael Liebreich, chief executive officer of New Energy
Finance, said at the company�s annual conference in New York
yesterday. �In a decade the cost of solar projects is going to halve
again.�

Installation Boom
Installation of solar PV systems will almost double to 32.6 gigawatts
by 2013 from 18.6 gigawatts last year, New Energy Finance estimates.
Manufacturing capacity worldwide has almost quadrupled since 2008 to
27.5 gigawatts, and 12 gigawatts of production will be added this
year. Canadian Solar has about 1.3 gigawatts of capacity and expects
to reach 2 gigawatts next year, Qu said.

�You have to get better at it as well,� said Bill Gallo, CEO of Areva
SA (CEI)�s solar unit. The French company could shave another 20
percent from the cost of making its concentrating solar thermal
technology, and the same proportion from building and deploying
plants, he said.

Electricity from coal costs about 7 cents a kilowatt hour compared
with 6 cents for natural gas and 22.3 cents for solar photovoltaic
energy in the final quarter of last year, according to New Energy
Finance estimates.

Comparisons often overstate the costs of solar because they may take
into account the prices paid by consumers and small businesses who
install roof-top power systems, instead of the rates utilities charge
each other, said Qu of Canadian Solar.

�Solar isn�t expensive,� he said �In many areas of the solar industry
you�re competing with retail power, not wholesale power.�

Rooftop solar installations also will become cheaper, the executives
said.

�System costs have declined 5 percent to 8 percent (a year), and we
will continue to see that,� SolarCity Inc. CEO Lyndon Rive said in an
interview. The Foster City, California- based company is a closely
held installer and owner of rooftop power systems.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ehren Goossens at the BNEF
Summit in New York at egoossens1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net
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Uzbekistan Dam breaks would be "tsunami for central Asia"

http://www.hydroworld.com/index/display/news_display.1390800381.html


Rogun Hydropower Plant dam break will lead to flooding of Uzbekistan

UzReport.com
April 1, 2011
Sergei Zhigarev, Director of Uzbekistan's Gidroproyekt, believes that
strong earthquakes similar to the one that hit Japan on 11 March may
destroy large hydropower constructions in Central Asia and inflict
damage comparable to that inflicted by a tsunami.

In his article titled "Rogun Project: Tsunami for Central Asia"
published in the Tuesday edition of the newspaper Pravda Vostoka,
Zhigarev addressed the possible implications of the breakage of the
Rogun Hydropower Plant, which Tajikistan is planning to build, TCA
reported.

"In the event of a serious earthquake such as the one that occurred in
Japan, a dam over 335 meters tall will experience a sharp increase in
tension caused by a shift in its foundation and tremendous water
pressure (over 300 meters). Clearly, the dam will not be able to
withstand such a combination of pressure and its destruction will
cause a real tsunami," the expert said.

If the Rogun Hydropower Plant dam breaks, the water wave will be at
least 100 meters high, the expert said.

"In the event this absolutely reckless dam project, the wave, which
will head down with the Vashsha current if the dam breaks, will reach
at least 100 meters above the Earth's surface and will be much more
destructive than the tsunami that has hit Japan," Zhigarev said.

The expert believes the dam break will cause a catastrophe in central
Asia, primarily Tajikistan, that has never been seen before. Experts
believe that, if this scenario eventuates, a tremendous amount of
water will move towards the Nurek Hydropower Plant at a speed of 130
meters per second.

The Nurek dam will be fully destroyed and the city of Nurek will be
hit by a 280 meter tall wave. The other hydropower plants of the
Vashkh cascade will be destroyed in the same manner and the cities of
Sarban, Kurgantube, and almost all Rumii will be flooded.

"These cities will be the first to be hit by the wave, which will then
flood dozens of other cities and populated areas in Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan," the expert said.

Copyright 2011 Biznes-Vestnik VostokaAll Rights Reserved
UzReport.com
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U.S. could generate 1M megawatt hours of hydro-power

http://www.esi-africa.com/node/12695

U.S. could generate 1million megawatt hours of hydro-power

Washington DC, United States --- ESI-AFRICA.COM --- 06 April 2011 -
The U.S. Department of the Interior has released the results of an
internal study that shows the department could generate up to one
million megawatt hours of electricity annually, and create jobs, by
adding hydropower capacity at 70 of its existing facilities.

The report, Hydropower Resource Assessment at Existing Reclamation
Facilities, estimates that the additional hydropower capabilities
could create enough clean, renewable energy to annually power more
than 85,000 households.

Based on industry estimates for job potential associated with the kind
of hydropower additions identified in this report, approximately 1,200
jobs could be created, including jobs in administration,
manufacturing, construction, engineering, operations and maintenance.

�Adding hydropower capability at existing Reclamation facilities is a
cost-effective and environmentally sustainable way to build our clean
energy economy,� said Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Anne
Castle. �We can increase our renewable hydropower output without
building new dams.�

This report highlights the exciting potential for substantial
hydropower development and related jobs at existing facilities
throughout the western United States. The Bureau of Reclamation
developed the report as part of President Obama's initiative to
develop a comprehensive renewable energy portfolio and to meet 80% of
energy needs with clean sources by 2035.

"Our report reflects Reclamation's commitment to advancing renewable
energy in a manner that promotes efficiency and sustainability through
the use of existing resources,� Reclamation Commissioner Mike Connor
emphasised.

The report studied 530 sites throughout Reclamation's jurisdiction,
including dams, diversion structures, and some canals and tunnels. Of
those sites, the assessment made a preliminary identification of 70
facilities with the most potential to add hydropower. These 70
facilities are located in 14 states.

Colorado, Utah, Montana, Texas and Arizona have the most hydropower
potential. Facilities with additional hydropower potential are also
found in California, Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon,
South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming.

The Bureau of Reclamation is the largest wholesale water supplier and
the second largest producer of hydro-electric power in the United
States, with operations and facilities in the 17 Western States. Its
58 power plants annually produce, on average, 40 billion kilowatt-
hours per year, enough to meet the needs of nine million people.
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