Gunmen Attack Chinese-Owned Power Plant Site in Chile

Gunmen attacked a Chinese-owned hydroelectric plant under construction in Chile Sunday, setting fire to dozens of trucks and heavy earth-moving equipment, police said. The Rucalhue power plant is being built by Rucalhue Energia Spa, a unit of China International Water and ...

Photo Essay: How Life Goes on in Communities Along Dam-Saturated Mekong River

Over the past ten days, countries along the Mekong River have been desperately trying to mitigate the devastating impact from the river’s surging water levels due to Typhoon Yagi – the worst typhoon to hit the region in decades. ...

Construction to Begin Next Year on Massive Chinese-Financed Hydroelectric Dam in Congo-Brazzaville

Congo-Brazzaville will begin the construction of a major new hydroelectric dam in January 2025, the government said Wednesday. "The government, through the Ministry of Energy and Hydraulics, has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Overseas Co Ltd for the development ...

Myanmar Junta Revives Plans for China-Backed Mega-Dam

Myanmar's junta has revived plans for a $3.6 billion Chinese-backed dam in the north of the country, which was suspended more than ten years ago following huge public opposition. The project to build the 6,000-megawatt Myitsone dam in northern Kachin state ...

China, Thailand Flock to Laos’ Rivers for Electricity

Pak Beng is a small, sleepy town north of Laos. Little happens in this town except when the slow boat emerges on the Mekong River pier at six in the evening. When that happens, shops, bars, and restaurants near the pier come alive to greet arriving tourists. ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

China-Led Study Proposes Global Energy Network

A globally connected network of solar and wind energy could provide three times the global energy demand by 2050 at a lower cost than independent national power systems. This is the finding of a study led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with researchers from the United States and Denmark.
The study focused on how areas with high solar and wind capacity (such as deserts) can be linked ...

DRC President Inaugurates New Chinese-Built Hydropower Plant

Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi opened the floodgates of the new Busanga hydropower station on the Lualaba River in southern Lualaba province's copper/cobalt belt. There's a certain irony in Tshisekdi inaugurating this particular project given that it's part of the massive $6 billion ...

A Chinese-Backed Solar Project in Lesotho Highlights Beijing’s New “Small is Beautiful” Infrastructure Development Strategy in Africa

Some 71 kilometers south of Lesotho’s capital Maseru, the new Mafeteng Solar Power Plant Project generates some 30MW of electricity that could easily power 30,000 homes running household appliances like a fridge, a TV, an electric cooker and a number of lights while also supporting some ...

How Chinese Construction Giant Sinohydro Benefits From Sanctions and Power Shortages in Zimbabwe

Sanctioned and isolated by the West, Zimbabwe’s economy has taken a beating for more than two decades but in that period, a number of Chinese companies have stuck it out and become favorites winning contracts for big-ticket projects. Chinese state-owned Sinohydro ...

Zimbabwe Pushing Chinese Steel Giant’s Plans to Exclusively Import Electricity From Mozambique

Chinese giant Tsingshang’s Zimbabwe subsidiary, Dinson Iron and Steel Company (Disco), will start importing electricity from Mozambique’s Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric power project once complete. This follows a plan, supported by the Zimbabwean government, to have Disco exclusively import power for the ...

Chinese-funded, Constructed Sakaï Solar Plant Powers up Central Africa Republic

The Central African Republic (CAR)’s first photovoltaic power plant is now operational following the successful launch of operation of the Sakaï Solar Power Plant last week. In the CAR, power cuts sometimes last 16 hours a day, badly hitting the ...

Chinese-Funded, Constructed Dams Prioritized in Zimbabwe’s Irrigation and Energy Plan

Zimbabwe is accelerating the construction of 12 large dams to irrigate at least 350,000 hectares by 2025 and generate hydropower while also providing potable water. The acceleration plan is meant to increase land acreage under irrigation with farmers in Zimbabwe ...

Chinese-Built Cross-Frontier Hydro System Inaugurated in Mali

This weekend saw the inauguration of the Gouina Hydroelectric dam and Malinguina hydropower station in Mali. Funded by the China Exim Bank and built by PowerChina, the facilities form part of a transfrontier hydroelectric system linking Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania.  ...