Boualapha power station

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Boualapha power station (ເມືອງບົວລະພາ power station) is a permitted power station in Boualapha, Khammouane, Laos. It is also known as Khammouane power station, Bualapha power station.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Boualapha power station Boualapha, Khammouane, Laos 17.561016, 105.736571 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.

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Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 permitted coal - unknown 1000 ultra-supercritical 2024
Unit 2 permitted coal - unknown 1000 ultra-supercritical 2024

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 1 Shanghai Electric Power Co Ltd, Petroleum Trading Lao PLC
Unit 2 Shanghai Electric Power Co Ltd, Petroleum Trading Lao PLC

Background

According to Mc Andrew and Partners Co., Ltd, a privately owned investment company and investment execution service provider, the Boualapha power station, formerly known as the Khammouane Coal Fired Power Plant, is a proposed 2,000 MW Ultra Supercritical Coal Fired Power Plant to be located in Boualapha, Laos.[1]

The project started in 2016 with "full cooperation" between Petroleum Trading Lao Public Company Limited (through Lanexang Property and Power), Power Line Engineering, and Shanghai Electric. To date, the following has reportedly been achieved:[1]

  1. Memorandum of Understanding for the development, finance, and construction of the power station on April 5, 2016 between Shanghai Electric and Lanexang Property and Power (Lanexang);
  2. Letter of Interest for Buyer’s Credit Insurance from China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation issued on December 8, 2016;
  3. Letter of Interest with indicative term sheet from Bank of China issued on December 15, 2016;
  4. Memorandum of Understanding was entered into on February 5, 2018 between Vietnam Electricity and Lanexang to allow Lanexang to apply for permission and approval from the Government of the Lao PDR to invest, own, and operate the power plant and transmission lines facilities in order to sell electricity to Vietnam Electricity (EVN);
  5. Feasibility Study for the project completed in September 2018;
  6. Government of the Lao PDR (GOL) approved the Project and the Feasibility Study on March 29, 2019;
  7. Project Development Agreement entered into on August 12, 2019 between GOL and Lanexang to formalize the contractual relationship on an exclusive basis and to enable for project documents necessary to develop the Project to be completed jointly to reach financial close;
  8. GOL issued a letter of support from Ministry of Energy and Mines dated November 13, 2019 to allow Lanexang to approach and negotiate for Power Purchase Agreement with EVN;
  9. Lanexang issued a tariff offer letter to EVN in March 2020;
  10. GOL and Lanexang entered into negotiation on Concession Agreement in July 2020 and expected to conclude the agreement in January 2021.


A 2020 report on pollution in the Khammouane province referenced a 2019 assessment report on a 2 x 1,000 MW project.[2]

The Petroleum Trading Lao Public Company (PetroTrade) website confirms that the company signed an agreement for a 2,000 MW coal power plant establishment project development in the Bualapha (Boualapha) district.[3]

The United Nation's 2021 "Energy Transition Pathways for the 2030 Agenda: SDG 7 Roadmap for Lao PDR" report listed 2024 as the expected year of operation for the plant.[4]

As of November 2022, the project was ongoing. It was expected to be connected to the Ha Tinh 500kV substation.[5]

In June 2023, no further public updates on the development or construction of the power plant were available. The project was mentioned in a booklet of energy and infrastructure projects in Laos.[6]

As of March 2024, there were no known updates on the development of the proposal.

Financing

Letter of Interest with indicative term sheet from Bank of China was issued on December 15, 2016.[1] This presumed not to have gone ahead.

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Boualapha Power Project," MC Andrew, archived June 18, 2021
  2. “ສະພາບມນ ົ ລະພດ ິ ແຂວງຄາ ມ ່ ວນ ປີ 2020,” Lao Environment Protection Fund, 2020 (citing GRECO, 2019, ບດົລາຍງານຂ ມ້ ູນພື ້ນຖານຂອງຝ່ ຸນລະອອງ, ສຽງ ແລະ ການສັ ່ນສະເທອືນ ດຮງໄຟຟາ້ຖ່ານຫນີ ແຂວງຄ າມ່ວນ (2 x 1,000 MW))
  3. “Outstanding development award for PetroTrade chairman,” Petroleum Trading Lao Public Company (PetroTrade), accessed June 16, 2021
  4. “Energy Transition Pathways for the 2030 Agenda: SDG 7 Roadmap for Lao PDR,” The United Nations, 2021
  5. “Vietnam and Laos should connect electric power to the national grid,” EVN, November 16, 2022
  6. “Vientiane Logistics Park,” Vientiane Logistics Park, June 24, 2023

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.