Laos promotes new energy storage

At first glance, it would appear that Laos' overreliance on hydropower would be beneficial in terms of energy independence and a negligible carbon footprint, but challenges remain. On the one hand, hydropower is considered a clean energy source.

However, Laos generally suffers from energy instability because most of its power plants are owned by international businesses and generate electricity for export. It even has two electricity grids, one for exporting power and one for domestic usage.

Overwhelmed by a sovereign debt of $12.6 billion, or around 65 percent of gross domestic product, Laos is not in a strong position to regain control over its energy operations. The Chinese, who have the finances, technological aptitude and manpower to run it, will continue to influence what kind of energy gets financed in the country.

A better path forward would be for Laos to manage its own power grid to increase the efficacy of its growing electricity exports, along with much-needed revenue, and help develop its domestic grid for more solar power on its path to net zero in 2050. Tim has been working in energy markets in the Asia-Pacific region for more than ten years.

Renewable power generation is slowly gaining traction in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos). However, the country of only 8 million people doesn't receive as much attention as its larger and more powerful fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, particularly Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Laos also exports smaller amounts of electricity to Singapore using existing interconnections from Thailand and Malaysia. However, Laos generally suffers from energy instability because most of its power plants are owned by international businesses and generate electricity for export.