German and Thai firms in JV deal
Germany-based Galip GmbH has signed a joint-venture contract worth Bt8.2 billion with Four Us Group from Thailand to develop solar power plants with a combined capacity of 84 megawatts.
The contract was signed yesterday by Galip GmbH president Alexander Galip and Four Us Group president Chingchai Chonchewat. Galip GmbH will hold a 40-per-cent stake in the joint venture, while Four Us will own 60 per cent.
Chingchai said the plants would be located in seven provinces: Lampang, Phrae, Uttaradit, Sukhothai, Surin, Chon Buri, and Prachuab Khiri Khan. The solar power plants would have an average capacity of 6MW to 8MW each.
“We will be buying contracts from existing holders, who have already dealt with and supplied electricity to the Provincial Electricity Authority [PEA]. We have already got contracts to supply 30MW to the PEA while negotiations are on for the balance 54MW. We will allow those who have owned contracts in supplying electricity to PEA to hold 3-5 per cent stake in each plant,” said Chingchai.
He said that of the Bt8.2 billion total investment, about Bt3 billion would be from borrowings from banks and financial institutions. Loans will be advanced by shareholders in the same ratio as the equity they own in the joint-venture company. The rest of the investment would be from shareholders’ capital.
Under the solar-power project to buy existing contracts in supplying electricity to PEA, the plants have received support from the government in the form of adder rate for solar power charged at between Bt6 and Bt8 per unit.
Under the joint venture, Galip GmbH will be responsible for providing the production technology, and the solar cells to be installed at the power plants will be imported. The project will be completed by the end of next year along with the contracts required for the solar plants to supply electricity into the PEA’s system, which are scheduled by December of next year. In the event that the plants are unable to deliver electricity to the system on time, the company may negotiate with PEA for a delay for a certain period of time allowed by the law.
Galip said “the company is quite confident of Thailand’s potential to build new solar power plants as the country’s overall economy is expected to recover very soon despite the severe impact of the massive floods”.
