Giant rare fish caught by local people along Mekong, Kratie Cambodia in around 2007, it was died after taking out from the water.
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Thursday, November 24, 2016
GE to help electrify Cambodia
A partnership with General Electric (GE), the Boston-based American multinational conglomerate, will be the best way forward for Cambodia to meet its 2035 goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by three million tons annually and electrifying 100 percent of rural areas, representatives from the company and the US ambassador told a workshop at the Ministry of Mines and Energy yesterday.
President of GE’s Asean division Wouter Van Wersch stated that the company was ideally positioned to deliver what the government needs, due to its diverse energy portfolio.
“We not only see the opportunity for GE to contribute to Cambodia’s infrastructure in power generation, power transmission, but also in healthcare and the aviation sector,” Mr. Van Wersch said. “We will support Cambodia with our best and latest technology, by improving the productivity and efficiency of equipment that will ultimately help to reduce the cost of electricity and also to reduce the emission impact on the environment.”
“We will work with the Ministry of Mines and Energy to increase power capacity in the country, and we want to invest more to [bring] the right technology and increase the [technical] capacity of the Cambodian people. We will bring the best technology available,” he added.
US Ambassador William Heidt also voiced his support of GE’s technical expertise.
“For the last 15 years, Cambodia has made huge progress expanding the power grid to rural areas and delivering more reliable and cheaper power. GE will present new technology and solutions on power to Cambodia. The workshop today is a concrete example of how the US business community can contribute to sustainable economic development here in Cambodia,” he said.
The Minister for Mines and Energy Suy Sem stressed at the workshop that Cambodia was facing increasing energy demands, both in the public and private sectors. He also highlighted the government’s efforts in connecting rural Cambodia to the national grid.
“The government is working on big power transmission lines to connect with all areas across the country, and to develop reliable sources of electricity at affordable prices for the Cambodian people,” said Mr. Sem.
There are 14,073 villages nationwide and by 2020, the government expects to install electricity lines in all of them. The government also has a target of providing electricity to 70 percent of all households nationwide by 2030.
About 85 percent of Cambodian people live in rural areas and the country has no indigenous sources of fossil fuel. Over 84 percent of primary energy is created by fuel wood, according to reports. Rechargeable car batteries are normally used in rural areas for basic lighting and powering radios and small televisions.
Victor Jona, director-general of energy at the ministry noted that so far 15 provinces had been connected to the power grid, with three more major lines coming online in the next two years. He spoke of his desire that GE will be able to further assist in the ministry’s efforts.
In addition to electricity imports from Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, Mr. Jona said that Cambodia has six hydroelectric plants in operation, and one coal-powered plant. He stressed that energy prices for consumers had greatly fallen in recent years, with rural consumers paying about 600 riel ($0.15) per kilowatt/hour, down from $0.50 a few years ago.
Source: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/32285/ge-to-help-electrify-cambodia/
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Gov’t Meets With Landlords to Discuss New Electricity Scheme
Less than a week after Prime Minister Hun Sen announced plans to reduce the price that migrant workers in Phnom Penh pay for electricity, the municipality hosted 12 public forums Monday to discuss a new payment scheme to be overseen by state operator Electricite du Cambodge (EdC).
In an effort to prevent landlords from profiting off the resale of electricity to their tenants, the government plans to outfit tens of thousands of rented rooms in the city with its own electricity meters, with renters paying between 610 and 820 riel ($0.15 to $0.20) per kWh directly to the EdC.
Landlords currently install their own meters and are allowed to set their own rates—often well above what they are charged by the electricity firm—for the electricity being used in their buildings.
At a public meeting with more than 200 building owners in Sen Sok district, Im Sophan, the head of EdC in the district, said the new meters will be installed throughout the city in the coming months.
“We are waiting for the meters to arrive from Thailand. There are 30,000 to 40,000 meters that will arrive in about two months,” he said.
A number of landlords at the meeting said the plan was flawed, as neither building owners nor tenants could afford to foot the bill for the new equipment.
Than Phearom, 36, a landlord in Phnom Penh Thmei commune, said workers would not be able to pay the security deposit of about $7.50 that the EdC would require from tenants.
“How will the worker deposit 30,000 riel to the EdC when they can barely buy rice for only 1,000 riel a day?” Mr. Phearom asked.
At another meeting in Russei Keo district between EdC representatives and more than 400 property owners, landlords also aired their objections.
“The EdC should not change anything,” said Sok Ny, an apartment building owner. “I will only take a little bit, not the same as in the past.”
....read more: https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/govt-meets-with-landlords-to-discuss-new-electricity-scheme-76419/
Source: Cambodia Daily!
Unions wary of energy plan
Fri, 30 January 2015 Sarah Taguiam and Pech Sotheary
An electricity notice sits on the wall next to power metres at a garment worker’s residence yesterday in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district. Pha Lina
Some labour unions are suggesting reforms to state energy provider Electricite du Cambodge’s (EdC) plan to grant energy discounts to garment workers in Phnom Penh, saying yesterday that the current arrangement is “too complex to implement”.
More than two weeks ago, EdC announced that it will lower electricity costs to alleviate the financial burden on impoverished workers after they complained about homeowners charging staggering prices ranging from 1,000 to 2,500 riel ($0.25 to $0.62) per kilowatt.
According to the new plan, workers are entitled to pay a lower fixed price of 610 riel ($0.15) per kilowatt for electricity consumed under 50 kilowatts a month. Electricity beyond that, however, will be subjected to public prices.
To enforce the $2-million plan, EdC was supposed to have installed new connections yesterday in rental spaces in three districts heavily populated by garment workers, said director-general Keo Rattanak in a recorded video clip last week.
The districts are Russei Keo, Meanchey and Dangkor.
EdC will bypass homeowners and draw up independent contracts with workers, charging them directly to avoid any price manipulation.
But unions are dubious.
“We really appreciate that the government announced this policy, but it just doesn’t sound realistic enough to implement,” said CLEC labour program head Moeun Tola.
C.CAWDU president Ath Thorn agreed, saying “some workers don’t have necessary documents to register for contracts and lack the time to pay the bill separately from their current utilities”.
Thorn also added that around 20 per cent of C.CAWDU’s members are unwilling to pay the 35,000 riels fee to install the new electric cables and counters.
To simplify the process, both labour leaders suggested that EdC let homeowners manage the payments and penalise landlords who charge beyond the fixed price.
Currently, most homeowners, according to Thorn, oppose the new initiative but have been told by EdC that they are obligated to comply with government policy.
“We will compromise with the homeowners to make this project successful,” said Long Dimanche, spokesman for Phnom Penh’s city hall, which is helping with implementation.
EdC officials will meet with homeowners from Monday to Sunday in the next few weeks to straighten out any outstanding issues, Rattanak said.
Kim Tay Factory garment worker Kit Meng said that the discounts are good, “but we’re worried that now the homeowners might overcharge water prices or increase rent to make up for their loss of money in electricity, so officials really need to negotiate with them”.
EdC could not be reached for comment.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KHOUTH SOPHAK CHAKRYA
Source: Phnom Penh Post
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Why solar? why thin film?
| Output of Solar Modules: a-Si vs Mono c-Si | ||
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In high temperature climates such as desert regions where the sun’s rays are its strongest, amorphous silicon clearly generates more energy. | |
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Amorphous based thin flim solar
cells generate energy over a longer period throughout the day. During peak load hours of utillty plants when electricity rates peak, a-Si also outperforms crystalline based cells. |
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Thin Film
is the Future Key Advantages of Thin Film: |
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Cautions
on Crystalline Production Polysilicon production is complex, consumes a high amount of electricity, and has environmental impacts |
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“It takes
10 kg of polysilicon to produce a solar panel with a capacity of one
kilowatt”
“A factory must burn more than 40kg of coal to produce a crystalline based panel – one metre by 1.5 metres” “Almost 30 million tonnes of coal or more than 1% of the mainland’s output of coal last year, will be needed to keep the ovens of all the polysilicon plants hot” “Leshan is one of the handful of cities to have imported polysilicon production lines – using a handheld device - found more than 10 poisonous substances from ammonia to trichlorosilane - workplace rated highly hazardous” Original: (Stephen Chan, SCMP, September 10, 2009) | ||
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Monster of the Mekong
Sat, 21 June 2014, Tom Fawthrop
It will be a giant, stretching across the mighty Mekong River.
Standing 32.6 metres tall and 820m wide, the $3.8 billion Xayaburi dam
in Laos could supply electricity to more than three quarters of a
million homes in Thailand. And when it’s completed in 2019, it will be
the most controversial power project in the region.
Since the plan was released in 2010 to construct the hydroelectric
plant, geologists and environmentalists have voiced concerns about
safety and the effects the mega-dam will have on neighbours Cambodia,
Vietnam and Thailand. They have highlighted the risks of seismic
activity in the area and the threat to the fishing industry on the
3,100-mile long (4,900 kilometres) Mekong River, which flows from the
Tibetan steppes into southern China on its way to Myanmar, Laos,
Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
“Previous earthquakes near the Xayaburi dam site should have served as a warning for Laos and the Thai dam company,” said Ame Trandem, the Southeast Asia programme director for the conservation group International Rivers. “It is completely irresponsible to push forward with a project located in a seismically unpredictable zone.”
During the past seven years, the area around the Xayaburi dam project has been shaken by earthquakes. A 6.9 magnitude quake hit Shan state in Myanmar. A 4.6 tremor only 48 kilometres away from the proposed project was recorded in 2007, while a 6.3 convulsion was reported in the Xayaburi area in the same year.
Naturally, this has alarmed Dr Punya Charusiri, who heads earthquake studies at Chulalongkorn University’s Department of Geology. The Thai scientist has identified an active fault close to Xayaburi town about 30km from the site. “I am worried that many people from the town would be affected. But I am not able to predict how much damage would be done to the dam itself, which is built on an ‘inactive fault’,” he said.
The risk factor is certainly there. During the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Sichaun, China in 2008, the walls of the Zipingu dam were badly damaged and came close to unleashing a second disaster of epic proportions.
“In a worse case scenario, if a [major] earthquake happened right under the [Xayaburi] dam, then nobody knows,” said Dr Sampan Singharajwaranpan, a seismologist and the dean of sciences at Chiang Mai University.
Safety, of course, is not the only concern. Fears are growing about the impact on the environment and ecology of the region when the Xayaburi dam, one of nine hydropower plants planned by the Laos government, is up and running. More than 30 million people in Cambodia and Vietnam rely on the Mekong River for their livelihoods. Rice and fish exports could be threatened in the inland waterways, which generate up to $3.9bn in revenue a year, equivalent to a quarter of the world’s annual catch.
Up to 40 species, such as the giant catfish, are under further threats from the dam, according to a report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). “Mortality is likely if fish pass through dam turbines [and] . . . the cumulative impacts of the dam are a serious threat,” said Zeb Hogan, an associate research professor at the University of Nevada in the US, and author of the report. “A fish the size of a Mekong giant catfish will simply not be able to swim across a large barrier like a dam to reach the spawning grounds.”
The Cambodian government is also anxious to avoid fish stocks being damaged. This in turn could lead to dietary problems if the industry is badly hit. “[Fish provide] 76 per cent of animal intake, 37 per cent of protein intake, 37 per cent of iron intake and 28 per cent of fats intake of the Cambodian population,” a study by the Cambodian Fisheries Administration (CFA), a government body, revealed.
Nao Thuok, the director of the CFA, underlined Cambodia’s concerns when he said the “protection of fisheries in the Mekong should be regarded as an issue of national security”. The stakes are so high, a joint declaration, released in March, from 39 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Australia set a one year deadline for the Laos and Thailand governments to scrap the project. “There is still essentially one year left to stop the dam as construction on the Xayaburi [power project’s] final dam across the Mekong River will begin in 2015,” said Trandem of International Rivers.
As the clock ticks down, the pressure is building on CH. Karnchang, the Thai group that will construct the dam, and partner Poyry Energy, part of the Finnish-based international engineering company and consultants Poyry. The Thai government has also been dragged into the dispute after agreeing to buy 95 per cent of the electricity generated at the hydropower plant.
One major concern aired by independent geologists has been the lack of transparency from CH. Karnchang and Poyry Energy about crucial seismic studies. Te Navuth, the secretary general of Cambodia’s National Mekong Committee, had called for “an independent research team [to] assess the risk of earthquakes and dam safety” back in 2011.
Two years after construction began, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) received “[a] seismic hazard assessment” which was drafted by Poyry Energy and AF Consult, the Swiss company based in Zurich. The MRC referred the “assessment” to an independent expert, but so far the Cambodian government has yet to see the report.
“The seismic hazard at the Xayaburi dam site has been studied thoroughly and the dam, the powerhouse, and the spillway will be designed against earthquakes, according to the latest seismic design guidelines prepared by the International Commission on Large Dams [ICOLD],” said Dr Martin Wieland, the managing Director of Poyry Energy.
Critics of the project have expressed disquiet about ICOLD and claimed that it is not an independent research body, but a forum for the dam engineering lobby largely funded by hydropower companies. Dr Wieland, of Poyry, is also chairman of the committee on Seismic Aspects of Dam Design for ICOLD in charge of seismic guidelines.
“The CH. Karnchang people assumed that the faults closest to the dam-site are inactive, and so they believe it is quite safe,” said Dr Punya, who has also worked for the CH. Karnchang group. “But there is an active fault and it is located within a 30km radius. Construction should never have been started before the research into the danger has been completed.”
As the row continues, regional government heavyweights have warned of the dangers ahead if the Xayaburi project is completed. “We have to protect our interests,” said Lim Kean Hor, the Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology in the Cambodian government. “We will not allow [construction] if there will be a serious impact.”
Just like the huge scale of the Xayaburi hydropower plant, the arguments against the project have grown from a trickle to a tidal wave. What happens next could change the course of the Mekong River for generations to come.
“Previous earthquakes near the Xayaburi dam site should have served as a warning for Laos and the Thai dam company,” said Ame Trandem, the Southeast Asia programme director for the conservation group International Rivers. “It is completely irresponsible to push forward with a project located in a seismically unpredictable zone.”
During the past seven years, the area around the Xayaburi dam project has been shaken by earthquakes. A 6.9 magnitude quake hit Shan state in Myanmar. A 4.6 tremor only 48 kilometres away from the proposed project was recorded in 2007, while a 6.3 convulsion was reported in the Xayaburi area in the same year.
Naturally, this has alarmed Dr Punya Charusiri, who heads earthquake studies at Chulalongkorn University’s Department of Geology. The Thai scientist has identified an active fault close to Xayaburi town about 30km from the site. “I am worried that many people from the town would be affected. But I am not able to predict how much damage would be done to the dam itself, which is built on an ‘inactive fault’,” he said.
The risk factor is certainly there. During the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Sichaun, China in 2008, the walls of the Zipingu dam were badly damaged and came close to unleashing a second disaster of epic proportions.
“In a worse case scenario, if a [major] earthquake happened right under the [Xayaburi] dam, then nobody knows,” said Dr Sampan Singharajwaranpan, a seismologist and the dean of sciences at Chiang Mai University.
Safety, of course, is not the only concern. Fears are growing about the impact on the environment and ecology of the region when the Xayaburi dam, one of nine hydropower plants planned by the Laos government, is up and running. More than 30 million people in Cambodia and Vietnam rely on the Mekong River for their livelihoods. Rice and fish exports could be threatened in the inland waterways, which generate up to $3.9bn in revenue a year, equivalent to a quarter of the world’s annual catch.
Up to 40 species, such as the giant catfish, are under further threats from the dam, according to a report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). “Mortality is likely if fish pass through dam turbines [and] . . . the cumulative impacts of the dam are a serious threat,” said Zeb Hogan, an associate research professor at the University of Nevada in the US, and author of the report. “A fish the size of a Mekong giant catfish will simply not be able to swim across a large barrier like a dam to reach the spawning grounds.”
A fish trader waits for customers.
The Cambodian government is also anxious to avoid fish stocks being damaged. This in turn could lead to dietary problems if the industry is badly hit. “[Fish provide] 76 per cent of animal intake, 37 per cent of protein intake, 37 per cent of iron intake and 28 per cent of fats intake of the Cambodian population,” a study by the Cambodian Fisheries Administration (CFA), a government body, revealed.
Nao Thuok, the director of the CFA, underlined Cambodia’s concerns when he said the “protection of fisheries in the Mekong should be regarded as an issue of national security”. The stakes are so high, a joint declaration, released in March, from 39 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Australia set a one year deadline for the Laos and Thailand governments to scrap the project. “There is still essentially one year left to stop the dam as construction on the Xayaburi [power project’s] final dam across the Mekong River will begin in 2015,” said Trandem of International Rivers.
As the clock ticks down, the pressure is building on CH. Karnchang, the Thai group that will construct the dam, and partner Poyry Energy, part of the Finnish-based international engineering company and consultants Poyry. The Thai government has also been dragged into the dispute after agreeing to buy 95 per cent of the electricity generated at the hydropower plant.
One major concern aired by independent geologists has been the lack of transparency from CH. Karnchang and Poyry Energy about crucial seismic studies. Te Navuth, the secretary general of Cambodia’s National Mekong Committee, had called for “an independent research team [to] assess the risk of earthquakes and dam safety” back in 2011.
Two years after construction began, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) received “[a] seismic hazard assessment” which was drafted by Poyry Energy and AF Consult, the Swiss company based in Zurich. The MRC referred the “assessment” to an independent expert, but so far the Cambodian government has yet to see the report.
Images of shattered buildings from the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Tarlay in the Shan state in Myanmar in 2011.
“The seismic hazard at the Xayaburi dam site has been studied thoroughly and the dam, the powerhouse, and the spillway will be designed against earthquakes, according to the latest seismic design guidelines prepared by the International Commission on Large Dams [ICOLD],” said Dr Martin Wieland, the managing Director of Poyry Energy.
Critics of the project have expressed disquiet about ICOLD and claimed that it is not an independent research body, but a forum for the dam engineering lobby largely funded by hydropower companies. Dr Wieland, of Poyry, is also chairman of the committee on Seismic Aspects of Dam Design for ICOLD in charge of seismic guidelines.
“The CH. Karnchang people assumed that the faults closest to the dam-site are inactive, and so they believe it is quite safe,” said Dr Punya, who has also worked for the CH. Karnchang group. “But there is an active fault and it is located within a 30km radius. Construction should never have been started before the research into the danger has been completed.”
As the row continues, regional government heavyweights have warned of the dangers ahead if the Xayaburi project is completed. “We have to protect our interests,” said Lim Kean Hor, the Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology in the Cambodian government. “We will not allow [construction] if there will be a serious impact.”
Just like the huge scale of the Xayaburi hydropower plant, the arguments against the project have grown from a trickle to a tidal wave. What happens next could change the course of the Mekong River for generations to come.
Original text: Phnom Penh Post
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Residents left in dark again
Fri, 13 June 2014, Sen David and Stuart White
Residents in the vicinity of Kab Ko market in Phnom Penh’s
Chamkarmon district found themselves fumbling in the dark yet again
yesterday on the second consecutive day of hours-long power outages.
According to locals, electricity to the street failed around noon on Wednesday and was restored at about 10pm that night, only to fail again around noon yesterday, driving down trade and serving as a general headache for residents and business owners alike.
“The electricity is very important to make a living,” jewellery vendor Chan Vanta said. “I need light for my business as a gold seller to attract the customers, but for two days there have been few customers coming to look … and buy some jewellery.”
Sitting in a still, dark, empty dining room, the owner of the usually popular Phsar Kabko restaurant agreed.
“After the electricity was cut … there were fewer customers,” he said. “Right now the days are very hot, and customers need a fan.”
The restaurateur, who asked to be identified only as Mean, said he had been forced to resort to iceboxes to keep his produce and drinks cold after the power outage killed his refrigerators, but the run on ice that ensued after the outage made it hard to find.
The blackout was also causing problems on the home front, resident Sam That said.
“We need a fan, air conditioning and light to live, because it is too hot, and we need electricity for my daughter to study, use the internet and watch TV,” she said. “We heard about an EdC [Electricité du Cambodge] release, but we can’t do anything.”
An official at EdC who declined to be named would not comment in detail, but offered a statement pertaining to construction in Por Sen Chey and Meanchey districts, among others. Due to interconnected power grids, work being done there could have an effect elsewhere in the city, the official said.
“The EdC would like to inform the public that EdC will … remove some lines for road expansion construction, so [power in] some areas in Phnom Penh will be off until 14 June,” the statement reads. “We hope that the public will be aware and forgive us.”
According to locals, electricity to the street failed around noon on Wednesday and was restored at about 10pm that night, only to fail again around noon yesterday, driving down trade and serving as a general headache for residents and business owners alike.
“The electricity is very important to make a living,” jewellery vendor Chan Vanta said. “I need light for my business as a gold seller to attract the customers, but for two days there have been few customers coming to look … and buy some jewellery.”
Sitting in a still, dark, empty dining room, the owner of the usually popular Phsar Kabko restaurant agreed.
“After the electricity was cut … there were fewer customers,” he said. “Right now the days are very hot, and customers need a fan.”
The restaurateur, who asked to be identified only as Mean, said he had been forced to resort to iceboxes to keep his produce and drinks cold after the power outage killed his refrigerators, but the run on ice that ensued after the outage made it hard to find.
The blackout was also causing problems on the home front, resident Sam That said.
“We need a fan, air conditioning and light to live, because it is too hot, and we need electricity for my daughter to study, use the internet and watch TV,” she said. “We heard about an EdC [Electricité du Cambodge] release, but we can’t do anything.”
An official at EdC who declined to be named would not comment in detail, but offered a statement pertaining to construction in Por Sen Chey and Meanchey districts, among others. Due to interconnected power grids, work being done there could have an effect elsewhere in the city, the official said.
“The EdC would like to inform the public that EdC will … remove some lines for road expansion construction, so [power in] some areas in Phnom Penh will be off until 14 June,” the statement reads. “We hope that the public will be aware and forgive us.”
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