Hydroelectric Power
Tunnel collapse at dam project in orangutan habitat claims yet another life
JAKARTA — A second tunnel collapse this year at a controversial dam construction site in Indonesia has killed another Chinese worker, bringing the toll from the project to 17 in just two years. The worker, identified as Wan Shui, 35, was severely injured in a tunnel cave-in on Nov. 9 and rushed to hospital, where […]
‘They paid for it with misery’: Q&A with Chile dam critic Jose Marihuan Ancanao
SANTA BÁRBARA, Chile — The Bío Bío River is the second-longest in Chile, forming in the Andes near the Argentine border and running 380 kilometers (240 miles) northwest before emptying into the Pacific. The river passes through rural, sometimes uninhabited, mountains and foothills, making it seem ideal for hydroelectric development. But other areas are home […]
Cambodian mega dam’s resurrection on the Mekong ‘the beginning of the end’
STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — A long-dormant plan to build a mega dam on the mainstream of the Mekong River in Cambodia’s northeastern Stung Treng province appears to have been revived this year, leaving locals immediately downstream of the potential sites worried and experts confounded. First studied in 2007, the 1,400-megawatt hydropower project, known as the […]
‘Cursed’ dam project in orangutan habitat claims 16th life in less than 2 years
JAKARTA — Indonesian police are investigating possible negligence in the death of a Chinese construction worker at the site of a controversial hydroelectric dam in the only known habitat of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan. The victim, identified as 52-year-old Wang Jian, died on the morning of Aug. 21 when the tunnel he was working […]
EVs from Everest? Chinese lithium find in Himalayas raises concerns over water
The recent discovery near Mount Everest of “super large” deposits of lithium, the key element in the batteries powering electric vehicles, has raised concerns over the fate of water resources in the region. While the deposit could provide much-needed supplies of the metal to fuel the fast-growing market for EVs and battery storage applications, mining […]