In the Media

Only six of 35 contracts between the government and independent power producers (IPPs) passed muster in a review by an inter-agency committee looking into allegedly scurrilous deals with the state-owned power firm. President Arroyo disclosed the committee led by Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho gave a clean bill of health to six of the IPP contracts which "passed their review with no legal or financial issues" and therefore would be continued by her administration. "So they can go on and operate and their rates are more or less fair," she said. The six are Lim

BANGKOK, Jul 17 (IPS) - A sharp difference of opinion between the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) and the United Nations Environment programme (UNEP) has surfaced over a flagship venture of the Manila-based financial institution. UNEP has dispensed with diplomatic-speak to expose in clear terms the shortfalls and damage to the environment arising from ‘development' in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), an AsDB project. Although it has become one of the fastest growing regions in the world, ‘'much of the growth has bypassed more than 70 percent of its rural population, many

Article from The Nambian  The controversial planned Epupa Hydropower scheme has given way to the development of the Kudu gas–to–power project as Namibia pushes for electricity independence. Initially Epupa was touted as the main solution to the power crisis facing not only Namibia, but the whole southern African region. However, recent months have seen the emergence of the Kudu gas–to–power project – a US$800 million development off the Oranjemund coast – as the solution to Namibia’s difficulty in servicing the peak demand periods. "We view it as essential not

A diversion tunnel for recently built dam in Brazil failed during the last week in June, causing an uncontrolled release of the water from the huge upstream reservoir. The failure caused no loss of life and contractors assert that the dam’s main structure is intact, but the event is raising alarms from international environmental groups and sparking concerns about additional delays in the project, which is already well behind schedule. The 626–foot (202–meter) Campos Novos dam in the Santa Catarina region of southern Brazil is the world’s third tallest concrete–fa

Available in pdf format After a series of setbacks, it is anticipated the construction of the Bujagali hydro power station will, in spite of technical advice against the project, move ahead in early 2006. The project could be commissioned in 2009. The government has since the inception of the project been warned by both local and international bodies of the environmental dangers associated with the project but it seems grimly determined to press ahead with it. The Sunrise’s Bwire Eric delves in recent developments in the country’s power industry. Energy situation in Uganda The Owen Falls

Article from www.jrn.columbia.edu By Cindy Schreiber Dams produce energy by harnessing the power of water. A powerfully simple equation. But the web of economic, social and environmental consequences arising from these mammoth projects is anything but. Take the Bujagali Hydropower Dam Project for Uganda, the largest dam–building project in East Africa. A cultural and spiritual site along the Nile River, Bujagali’s spectacular waterfalls attract whitewater rafters from around the world. The government of Uganda, one of the world’s poorest nations, sees the hydropower project as an opportu