Hydropower
Overview
Hydropower overview
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Laos has tremendous natural hydropower resources. To date, a lot of attention has been given to developing large hydropower projects. Although these projects can yield macro-economic benefits for the country, these projects usually do not directly benefit poor people in remote rural areas.
Small and very small hydropower has received much less attention from the government, multilateral organizations and NGOs. However, pico-hydropower (<5 kW) is very common in remote rural areas, is completely market-driven, and provides many people with an essential source of electricity. An estimated 60,000 low-head pico-hydropower units provide electricity for about 90,000 households, making it the most important renewable energy technology in the country.
Since 2008, LIRE has worked in partnership with ETC Energy and BORDA to improve the use of pico hydropower, as well as raise international recognition of its importance for rural livelihoods.
Activities
Hydropower activities
May 2009 - Nov 2010
Pico hydro Innovation Programme, Phase 2
Moving on to phase 2, LIRE, for another 18 months, is conducting follow-up activities in three northern provinces; Xiengkhouang, Huaphanh and Phongsaly. Activities include conducting informational workshops for shop owners, training of technical advisors, introduction of Electronic Load Control and development of user installation manuals in the Lao language. The overall aim is to educate shop owners and technical advisors at provincial, district and village levels, and also to improve the market supply chain of goods and services related to pico-hydropower in Laos.
May 2010
LIRE provides pico-hydropower systems training to Sunlabob staff
On May 12, the Lao Institute of Renewable Energy (LIRE) provided a training session on pico-hydropower systems to Sunlabob staff at the Lao Institute of Renewable Energy (LIRE).
For more information, read the news article.
Pico-hydropower Innovation and Capacity Building Program – Phase 2 (4th quarterly report)
The fourth quarterly report summarises the progress of the Pico-hydropower Innovation and Capacity Building Programme (Phase 2) that took place from 1st March to 31st May 2010. This report details training activities in two target Provinces, Phongsaly and Huaphanh, as well as describing the update of training materials that took place after training participant feedback.
For more information, please read the report.
Sept 2009 - Feb 2010
Implementation of shared pico hydropower pilot demonstration site
LIRE, with support from German NGO BORDA and the German Embassy, constructed a shared pico-hydropower demonstration site in Angsang village in Huaphanh province. The project aims to demonstrate how a rural community can use pico-hydro in a collective way, sharing the operational management and maintenance workload and financial costs, to provide a safer and more reliable service at a decentralized level. There are also plans to further explore its technical and operational components.
Dec 2009
Shared Pico-Hydropower implementation in Huaphan Province
The shared pico-hydropower project aims to demonstrate how a rural community can use pico-hydro in a collective, sharing the financial costs and workload, to provide a safer and more reliable service. Whereas familial sharing is fairly common in Laos, this is limited to small numbers of households. Using a best practice installation, the demonstration site will provide power to community of houses and provide a model for this sharing system to be sustained.
For more information, please read the report.
Feb 2009-Aug 2009
Design and economic analysis of improved pico hydro model
BORDA (Germany)
Huaphan province. Lao PDR
As an intervention to stimulate the existing unregulated market for pico-hydro power (<5kW) in rural Laos, LIRE, on behalf of German NGO BORDA, designed an improved pico hydro technical system and economically viable operation model in Huaphan province. As part of the design, a technical specification for pico-hydropower was formulated, and an economic analysis of the system was developed as a guide to tariff and management fees.
Nov 2008- April 2009
Pico hydro Innovation Programme, Phase 1
Conducting research for Dutch NGO ETC, a market-oriented approach was taken to improving the reliability, safety and quality of pico-hydro turbines and their use in Laos. The product supply chain was mapped through a series of consultations with stakeholders at all levels of the existing unregulated market. A technography of pico-hydro turbine products and use in the Lao PDR was compiled based on LIRE’s existing research resources. Bottlenecks were identified and a series of possible interventions were devised. These concepts were then introduced to the stakeholders in the supply chain, to evaluate the level of interest of each and formulate a short list of interventions to be implemented in Phase 2 of the programme.
2008
LIRE conducts Innovation and Capacity Building Program
In 2008, LIRE began research on pico hydropower and found opportunities for scaling up and improving the quality and safety, efficiency and reliability of pico hydropower technology through existing and potential new market channels. To achieve these goals, LIRE, between 2008-2010, conducted the Innovation and Capacity Building Program, funded by Dutch NGO ETC energy. The aim of the program is to provide knowledge to various parties via training sessions, and technical document creation.
For more information, please read the report.