Ratch-partnered JV begins solar power production

The joint venture will supply electricity to the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA). RATCH and Solar Power Co are shareholders of Solar Power (Korat3) with respective stakes of 40 and 60 per cent.
Noppol Milinthanggoon, chief executive officer of RATCH, disclosed that the Korat3 solar farm was the second operation accomplished after the Sai Sena solar farm in Ayutthaya province. The venture reflects the company’s commitment to develop renewable energy to tap potential fuel sources such as solar, wind and biomass. It also aims to support the government’s policy on promotion of fuel diversification and reduced reliance on fossil fuels.
“The Korat3 solar farm has been granted a non-firm Power Purchase Agreement as a very small power producer by the PEA,” Noppol said.
The project is subsidised with an Bt8 adder tariff per unit for 10 years by the Power Development Fund under the Office of the Energy Regulatory Commission of Thailand. The solar farm will be able to generate electricity to provide power in daytime, which would not only preserve fossil fuels, but also reduce the impact on climate change, he added.
In partnership with Solar Power Co, the company has also invested in two other 6-megawatt solar farms in Nakhon Ratchasima province, apart from the Korat3 solar farm. These two projects are now under construction and are expected to commence commercial operations in the second quarter.
Furthermore, RATCH has eight more solar-farm investments under Solar Power Co. The projects are in Ayutthaya, Nakhon Pathom and Suphan Buri with total installed capacity of 34.25MW. Proportionate to the shareholding, RATCH currently records 23.98MW of total solar-energy capacity.