Nam Long 1 Dam Hydropower Info - by Hobo Maps - Go to Hydropower Projects Page - - - HOME

Nam Long 1 Hydropower project is located on the Nam Long (river) about 50 km west of Luang Namtha and 9 km northwest of Long District, Luang Namtha Province, northern Lao PDR. The Nam Long is a tributary of the Nam Ma which merges into the Mekong River near Xieng Kok.

Aerial view of site below.

Nam Long 1 powerhouse and penstock images below:

Nam Long 1 location image below:

The Nam Long 1 hydropower project is a run-of-river type with a spillover weir dam only 6.5 meters high.

The installed capacity of the project is 5.6 MW from two Pelton turbines with estimated annual output of 30 GWh. The output is to be supplied to EDL into the local Luang Namtha grid. In the beginning this grid was not connected with the main grid of Lao EDL but connected with China Southern Power Grid through transmission lines.

Nam Long Power Co., Ltd. was established between Laos-based Luangpaseuth Construction Sole Co., Ltd. and Electricite du Laos. The equity share of SMP Consultant Sole Co. Ltd. is 50%, Luangpaseuth Construction Sole Co., Ltd. is 30% and the share of EDL-Generation Public Company (EDL-GEN) is 20%.

It seems that the EPC contractor was Luangpaseuth Construction Sole Co., Ltd.

Nam Long 1 construction site image below at coordinates : 20°55'25.9"N 100°53'49.4"E (20.923867, 100.897058).

Nam Long 1 weir image below:

The project operates under a 30 year concession from the Lao government pursuant to a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer arrangement. There is an option to extend the concession term.

The project required an investment of about US$ 16 million and is currently run by EDL-Generation Public Company (EDL-GEN).

Construction of the dam was completed in late 2013 and generation of electricity began on a commercial basis in 2014.

The turbines and generators were imported from Germany while most other equipment is from China.

The Nam Long 1 reservoir has about 22,000 hectares of surface area. 

Nam Long 1 layout below:

The electro-mechanical equipment for the plant was from Wasserkraft Volk AG from Germany who installed the equipment and successfully completed all required tests.

Fourteen kilometers of 22kV transmission lines were installed to connect to the Electricite du Laos (EDL) power grid.

According to Luangpaseuth Construction Sole Co., Ltd. website the Nam Long 1 hydropower project was the first private sector hydropower plant in Lao PDR undertaken solely by domestic investors.

Image below shows about 19 meters of head

Sample output charts below from January to September (around year 2015)

Nam Long 1 Powerhouse images below:

Watch documentary video of Nam Long 1 Hydropower project HERE .

The project includes a dam/weir (gravity overspill type), water intake structure equipped with a settling basin, sand flush, a reinforced concrete headrace channel, forebay (head basin), surge tank, steel penstock, tailrace and a power house equipped with 2 pelton turbines (2 x 2.5 MW).

• Dam - Type: Gravity Spill Over
• Height: 7 meters (8 meters per video)
• Length: 50 meters
• Spillway Capacity: 600 cubic meters per second

• Headrace Channel - Cross Section: 2 x 2 meters
• Length: 3,650 meters (3,395 per video)
• Design Flow: 2.64 cubic meters per second

• Penstock - Diameter: 1.1 meter
• Length: 430 meters
• Wall Thickness: 12 to 15 millimeters
• Water Velocity: 2.64 cubic meters per second

• Forebay & surge tank capacity - 650 cubic meters (tiny)
• Turbines - Type: Pelton
• Quantities (set): 2
• Rated Head: 240 meters
• Output: 2.5 MW x 2

• Generator - Type: 3-phase synchronous alternator
• Output: 3,300 kVA
• Rated current: 577A
• Frequency: 50 Hz
• Rated speed: 600 rpm

• Transmission Line - Type: 22kV (Overhead)
• Length: 14 km

The Nam Long 1 project is a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project under the Kyoto Protocol that will hopefully result in CO2 emission reduction because it may displace power generation that otherwise would be based on combustion of fossil fuels. The reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is estimated to be 24,035 tons per year. View or download the CDM application PDF file HERE.

Nam Long 1 Commercial Operating Date (COD) & Certificate of Completion (COC) document images below:

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Nam Long 2, 3, 4 & 5 Projects

click to see our web page for Nam Long 2 Hydropower Project

After Nam Long I was completed and commissioned, Luangpaseuth Construction Sole Co., Ltd. initiated preparatory works for the construction of Nam Long II down-stream from Nam Long 1 .  Results of soil investigations and other on-site inspections were satisfactory. Suitable sources for civil works, electro mechanical equipment and construction capability for the transmission line have been identified.

Nam Long II plant would have installed capacity of 9.5 MW and be able to produce 47.1 GWh of electricity per year.

A take-off agreement for Nam Long II similar to the one agreed for Nam Long I has been signed with Electricite du Laos.

Other planned future Nam Long hydropower projects listed in chart below as shown on Luangpaseuth Construction Sole Co., Ltd. website in 2021. In 2023 we can't find a web page for this company or for the Project.