Two New Power Plants Planned

KHMER TIMES
SUM MANET

One factor that has limited large-scale alternative energy projects has been connectivity to the national grid. KT/Chor Sokunthea

Two new power plants are being planned for Cambodia, a $167 million garbage-fueled plant for Phnom Penh, and an $89 million solar plant for Siem Reap province, the tourism ministry announced.

In a statement on the ministry’s Facebook page yesterday, the ministry unveiled plans for the new plants by Quadran International, a French green energy firm, in partnership with Shanghai SUS Environment, a Chinese company specializing in waste incinerators.

Representatives from the two companies met with Tourism Minister Thong Khon on Monday to discuss the plans, in his capacity as director of the National Committee for Assessment of Clean Cities.

“The policy of green development in Cambodia is transforming the country as a tourist destination, making it green and clean to attract overseas visitors. We hope Phnom Penh will be in the running for Asean’s clean tourist city in 2018,” said Mr. Khon in a statement.

The power plant in Phnom Penh is expected to generate 30 megawatts of electricity, with the Siem Reap plant generating 55 megawatts.

Cambodia produces about 50 percent of its electricity from hydroelectric dams, with the rest largely coming from imported electricity from neighboring Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. One factor that has limited large-scale alternative energy projects has been connectivity to the national grid.

Last month, a $12.5 million, 10-megawatt solar farm in Svay Rieng province was announced, that would been connected to the national grid via a 140-kilometer long connection line.

Mean Chanyada, spokesperson of Phnom Penh Municipality, explained yesterday that the two companies had contacted City Hall via the Tourism Ministry to unveil their plans.

“Today there are three waste related problems – collecting the waste, transporting it to the dump and processing it,” Mr. Chanyada said.

“The company is interested in processing the waste, but they are studying about it in Phnom Penh. After they have done that, they will do a presentation based on the study results,” he said.

“There are many companies that aim to invest in waste processing and we now are selecting one company to process the waste. We are also checking each company’s criteria,” Mr. Chanyada said.

“Cooperating with a waste processing company is our goal because the waste dump is about 30 years old and none of the waste has been processed yet. The first dump in Steung Meanchey is full and changed to Dongkao district a few years ago. The first and second dumps are now full, and in the next five years, the third will be full, which will cause waste problems,” he said.

“Therefore processing the waste into electricity and fertilizer is necessary to ease the environmental impact on the city.”

Currently Phnom Penh produces about 2,000 tons of waste a day, but a report by the Cambodian Institute of Technology last year predicted that that amount would increase to more than 3,000 tons in the next 15 years.