Deep in the sparsely populated mountains of southeastern Laos, the sprawling Monsoon wind farm is under construction.
The farm, scheduled to start operation in 2025, is a project by Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp., Thai state-owned oil refiner Bangchak’s renewable energy subsidiary BCPG and others. When completed, it will cover 70,000 hectares with 133 wind turbines.
A generation capacity of 600 megawatts will make Monsoon one of the largest onshore wind farms in Southeast Asia. The output will be sold to a state-owned power company in Vietnam for 25 years.
This is not the only wind power project on the horizon for landlocked Laos, which has positioned itself as the “battery of Southeast Asia” with an export-oriented energy policy.
A proposal for a 250 MW Vietnamese-backed wind farm has been under consideration since December. At least 10 projects are thought to be in the planning stages nationwide.
Around 80% of the power generated in Laos is sold to neighboring Thailand and Vietnam, accounting for 30% of the country’s exports by value. Laos started power exports to Singapore in 2022 and began building transmission infrastructure in January for selling electricity to Cambodia.
More than 70% of the land in Laos consists of mountains and highlands, with many areas suitable for dams. Hydropower accounts for 70% of total generation in Laos. But concerns about the country’s dependence on hydropower have driven a shift toward wind.
Wind farms offer a promising complement to hydropower dams. Driven by steady winds blowing over changes in elevation, turbines can operate day and night, and they are more efficient than solar panels.
Laos sees growing demand for renewable energy among its neighbors. Thailand aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Vietnam is also making a big move toward decarbonization.