"Cambodia chooses coal in rush for power", 29 October 2020

[...] The US$1.34 billion Botum Sakor coal plant will have a generating capacity of 700 megawatts (MW) and be built by the Cambodian Royal Group and Sinosteel Equipment and Engineering Company, a subsidiary of China’s state-owned Sinosteel Corporation.

Earlier this month, Sinosteel Group was bought by China Baowu Steel Group. It is unclear what impact this development will have on the project.

New coal power approvals

Botum Sakor is one of two coal plants Cambodia’s government has approved this year in response to severe power outages in 2019. The country currently has the second-lowest electrification rate in Southeast Asia, according to the International Energy Agency. However, critics say the government’s choice of coal bucks the growing trend towards renewables in the region. [...]

Hydropower dilemma

Another reason for Cambodia’s move toward coal was the government’s decision in March to postpone the development of any hydropower dams on the Mekong River for a decade in response to stresses on the river’s flow as well as domestic and international pressure.

Two major hydropower plants had been planned on the river’s main channel at the China-backed Sambor dam and the Vietnam-financed Stung Treng, but both have faced fierce opposition over their expected impact on water levels, fish stocks and local communities. [...]

Official promises

Phay Siphan, a government spokesperson, told China Dialogue that the Botum Sakor plant will employ “clean coal” technology to avoid air pollution and that sea water temperatures would not be altered: “This coal plant will make sure that the heated water will be cooled before it reaches the sea.” [...]

However, Cambodia is somewhat behind on this technology, as evidenced by one of its operating thermal power plants near Sihanoukville, which had been dismantled in China before it was shipped south because it no longer met China’s environmental regulations.

Royal Group did not respond to multiple requests for comment. [...]