Laos approves feasibility study of floating solar farm

The Lao media on May 14 reported that under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently signed by the Lao Government and the company, the company will conduct a feasibility study on the building of the floating solar farm on a 1,565 ha site in the Nam Ngum 1 River Basin in Keo Oudom district of Vientiane province.

The feasibility study will take 18-24 months.

If the study yields positive results and is accepted by the government, the project will receive an investment of up to 1 billion USD to install 3-4 million solar panels, which will generate 1,500-1,600 MW.

The construction of the proposed solar farm will take place in three stages over 10 years.

In 2020, Laos also signed a Project Development Agreement (PDA) with China's Hangzhou Safefound Technology Company to develop a floating solar power project at Nam Ngum 1, with an installed capacity of up to 1,200 MW on an area of more than 1,500 ha. Once put into operation, it will be the largest floating solar power project in the world.

In 2021, French energy giant EDF also planned to build a 240 MW floating solar power plant at the Nam Theun 2 hydropower plant on the Nam Theun river. This project is currently implemented.

In recent years, grasping the trend of clean energy development in the world, the Lao Government has attached importance to developing renewable energy to meet domestic demand and export. Laos strives to become a green energy supplier in Southeast Asia.

The first China - Laos - Thailand - Malaysia express freight train recently departed from Chengdu, the capital of China’s southwestern Sichuan province, marking a significant milestone in regional trade connectivity.

The prolonged heat and drought, and low rainfall have caused reservoirs and dams in Laos to run dry, and hydropower plants unable to operate or reduce their generation capacity.