MINI HYDRO

Background

The government’s electrification master plan is essentially based on the establishment of a national grid and the construction of hydropower stations. Three of the hydroelectricity projects currently planned will have an installed capacity superior to 100 MW. Under Cambodian law, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) will be required for all the stations that exceed 5 MW of installed capacity (RGC, 1999).

The often quoted figure for Cambodia’s hydropower potential was provided by an Asian Development Bank’s report, where it is argued that the Mekong River and its tributaries have potential for the generation of 8.6 GW of electricity (ADB, 1999). MIME is even more enthusiastic in its estimates of Cambodia’s hydroelectric potential with about 10 GW (MIME, 1999).

The only hydroelectricity scheme of substantial capacity currently in operation in Cambodia is the 12 MW Kirirom station which is connected to Phnom Penh by a 112 kV transmission line stretching over a distance of 120 km. The original Kirirom scheme was built with Yugoslavian support and commissioned in 1968. At the end of year 1970, the Kirirom station ceased production with the beginning of the Khmer Rouge insurgency. To be noted, the area surrounding Mount Kirirom has been declared a national park by the 1993 Royal Decree on Protected Areas. Kirirom is the only known area in Cambodia of high elevation pines. The Kirirom hydro station resumed operations only in May 2002.

The electrification master plan argues that given “the topography and high rainfall”, many areas of Cambodia are favourable to the development of mini-hydro schemes of 100 kW to 5 MW (World Bank and HECEC, 1998). The 5 MW limit corresponds to the maximum installed capacity of a station that does not require an EIA for construction.

Project/Program

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Renewable energy advocates call "milestone development Cambodia's renewable electricity technology" - made-in-Cambodia guide promoting public private investment renewable energy technologies order meet needs Cambodia's rural population.

Under assistance of JICA, Japan in cooperation with Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME) and Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC) had been established " General Requirements of Electric Power Technical Standards for the Kingdom of Cambodia" In this document also included the general requirement for the hydro power.

This General Requirements of Technical Standards has the following main purposes:

1.   To specify the technical, design, and operational criteria of Electrical Power Facility, House Wiring and Electrical Appliance,

2.   To ensure that the basic rules for supply of electricity are fair and non-discriminatory for all Consumers of the same category, and

3.   To maintain the technical standards (levels) of Electrical Power Facility, House Wiring and Electrical Appliance installed in the Kingdom of Cambodia

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR HYDRO POWER GENERATING FACILITIES

                 - Dams, Waterways, Powerhouses and Other Facilities

                 - Prevention of Damage caused by Hydroelectric Power Plant

                 - Hydraulic Turbines and Generators

MINI HYDRO POWER CONSTRUCTION SCHEMES

A : Mini Hydro (50-500 kW)

      (Construction by Outside Contractor)

B : Micro Hydro (1-50 kW)

      (Construction by Villagers’ Participation)

C : Pico Hydro (<1.0 kW)

      (Installation by Individual Houses/Groups)
 

As the development of power sector requires huge capital investment, the RGC has the strategy to attract private sector to participate in the development in energy sector, such projects hydropower Kirirom I 12 MW invested by CETIC (2002), Hydropower Kirirom III also will invested by CETIC and Hydropower Kamchay 180 MW now is under bidding process.

ISSUES ON MINI HYDRO POWER (Technical, Institutional and Finance)

n                  Power Supply Shortage (Dry Season)

n                  Landslide / Flood Damage / Sedimentation

n                  Access (for Construction/Maintenance)

n                  O&M Issues (Technical and Cost)

n                  Finance (Investment Cost)

n                  Not integrated with Community Development

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION FOR MINI HYDRO POWER PROJECT

Objective:

n                  Socioeconomic Development

n                  Management by Community Based Organization (Ownership)

n                  Enhancement of Livelihoods/Poverty Alleviation

n                  No Emission of Green-House Gas (GHG)

SMALL / MICRO HYDRO ELECTRICITY

BARRIER

□        High initial investment,

□        Due to organizational and managerial barriers and also due to the lack of means,

□        Weakness in Financing, Banking,

□        To address these barriers, we need, to begin with, to have human resources, which are both competent and motivated. The market should be developed in order to reduce the cost, and subsidies are must,

□        The International communities must help our country to break the vicious circle of poverty/endless donors’ assistance, through intelligent and sustainable development.

As the standard of living has improved and the economy is growing then the demand for power consumption will be on the increase. To keep up with the rapid growth and development, the Royal Government’s short- and long-term strategy in the electricity sector is as follows:

First, develop a sustainable, reliable and cheap power supply in the country, complemented by power imports from neighboring countries in order to meet domestic demand, and

Second, develop and expend transmission and distribution network connecting urban centers and remote areas with a nation-wide electrification project.

At present, the power supply network in Cambodia consists of small stand-alone power units. We have yet to build a nation-wide power transmission network like in developed countries. That is why the tariff of electrical power in Cambodia is high and power supply is inadequate. Apart from Phnom Penh and a few provincial towns with adequate power supply, in a big part of the country power supply has been provided by private contractors operating small generators offering excessive tariff of 1,000 to 1,500 Riels/kwh.

The intended effects of the REF grant is to reduce the capital cost and thus the retail cost of power in rural areas and also, combined with an operating licence from the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC), to enable the proponent to successfully obtain the remaining finance from a private finance institution.  Technical assistance will be provided to further assist proponents to secure appropriate debt finance.

ADVANTAGES OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN MINI HYDRO PROJECT

- Learning techniques through installation,

- Application of local technology and resources, Susceptible to damages but could be

   repaired locally,

- Information exchange with other villages.

PRELIMINARY CRITERIA FOR SITE SELECTION OF MINI HYDRO

•       Distance from Existing Grid

•       Comparative Investment Cost

•       Hydropower Potential

•       Access

•       Number of Households

•       Income / Poverty Level, Minority, etc.

•       Willingness to Pay (current expenditure for energy, battery, having % of TV, etc.)

•       Energy Demand / Social Needs (Education, Health, Irrigation, Small Industry, etc.)

•       Environmental Impacts

•       Maturity of Project Preparation

•       Organization for O&M and Management

•       Model Effect to Region

•       Security

•       Level of Existing Study (Pre-F/S, F/S, D/D, etc.)

Key Players

GOVERNMENT:

1. Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy:

-         Department of Energy Technique

-         Department of Hydropower

-         Department of Energy Development

2. Electricity du Cambodge (EDC)
3. Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology
4. Cambodian Climate Change Office of the Ministry of Environment

PRIVATE SECORS:

1.      VAN LONG Co.Ltd.

2.      CTEC Co.Ltd

3.      COMIN KHMERE Co.Ltd

NON GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION:

-     REPSA (Renewable Energy Private Sector Association), from KHMER SOLAR,

      Director, Jean-Pierre Mahé of Kosan-Gret, As Secretary General of REPSA.

-     CRCD (Cambodian Research Centre for Development)

-     NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Development Organization, Japan)

ACADEMIC:

1.    Institute Technology of Cambodia (ITC)

2.   Royal University of Agriculture (RUA)

DONORS, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS:

JICA (Japan), The World Bank Group, Asian Development Bank

BANKS & MICRO FINANCING INSTITUTIONS (MFI):

ACLEDA, CANADIA,