The Xayaburi dam, with installed capacity of 1,260 MW, is the first one among 12 mainstream dams on the Mekong river. Located approximately 30 kilometers east of Xayaburi district, in northern Laos, this $3.2 billion dam is a controversial case: while Laos and dam-developers are steadily confirming that Xayaburi is a run-of-river (ROR) project, the dam’s water retention is 1-2 days, meaning it does not qualify as a real ROR dam.