Loxley to push ahead with solar power
Loxley wants to build up its solar power business by joining hands with potential partners to build four plants requiring investment of Bt2.4 billion with combined capacity of 24 megawatts.
Piboon Piboontum, the vice president for financial management and director of the solar power plant operator, L Solar 1, said yesterday that each of |the four plants could produce 6MW.
The company already has acquired land in Prachin Buri and Sa Kaew, next to the plant of L Solar 1.
However, the company is waiting for the government’s complete announcement of the feed-in tariff rate.
The Energy Regulatory Commission is studying the introduction of a feed-in tariff for solar power to replace the Bt8-per-unit "adder".
If the feed-in rate is equivalent to Bt6.50 per unit of adder, Loxley will forge ahead with the plan, due to its readiness in terms of technology, land and loans as well as the internal rate of return of more than 10 per cent.
Solar projects are becoming more attractive due to the declining prices of solar cell equipment.
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If the rate is lower than Bt6 per unit equivalent of the adder rate, the new project will be barely commercially viable, due to the high interest rate, plus the higher insurance premium rate driven by the flood factor.
Loxley is not interested in buying the power purchase contracts of other companies that have |no capacity to invest in the electricity business and have to put their contracts up for sale, he added.
L Solar 1 yesterday inaugurated its solar farm in Prachin Buri. The plant, costing more than Bt800 million, is rated at 8MW and occupies 215 rai of land.
The plant is estimated to generate revenue of Bt135 million-Bt140 million per year. It started feeding power to the Provincial Electricity Authority on December 2.
L Solar 1 is the joint venture of four firms. Loxley owns 45 per cent, while the open-ended MC Energy Fund holds 24.99 per cent, followed by Leonics with 16 per cent and Prasert Choosaeng with 14.01 per cent.
