China General Nuclear enters agreement to develop renewable energy base in Laos

BEIJING (Reuters) - China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) has signed a project development agreement with the government of Laos to develop a renewable energy base in the north of the country, according to a statement released by CGN on Sunday.

The base will incorporate wind, solar, hydro and energy storage capabilities, and will feed into an existing power line that transfers power generated in Laos to China's Yunnan province, and a second planned 500kV power line between the two.

Laos, a member of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, has already hosted significant infrastructure investment from China, including a recently-opened high speed railway line between the two countries.

The latest agreement, signed at the China-ASEAN Expo held in Nanning in southern Guangxi province, advances a memorandum of understanding on the proposed renewable energy base signed between CGN and the Lao government in October 2022.

Power exports to China have formed a key part of landlocked Laos' development strategy, with China Southern Power Grid Co taking a majority stake in the Laotian national power grid in 2020 to help develop the sector.

(Reporting by Andrew Hayley; Editing by Michael Perry)

By Andrew Hayley