EGCO purchases majority stake in Natural Energy
Electricity Generating (EGCO Group), Thailand's first independent power producer, has acquired an additional 33.33-per-cent stake in Natural Energy Development (NED) from Diamond Generating Asia (DGA), worth Bt1.2 billion.
This acquisition makes EGCO Group the majority shareholder of NED with 66.66 per cent of the shares. The company says it will recognise immediate earnings in proportion to its additional shares.
EGCO president Sahust Pratuknukul said the group had acquired the common shares in NED, which owns and operates Lopburi Solar and Wang Ploeng Solar power plants, from DGA, a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp.
The total consideration for the transaction was Bt1.2 billion, completed on Wednesday.
CLP Thailand Renewables retains the remaining 33.33-per-cent stake in NED.
NED owns and operates the 55-megawatt Lopburi Solar plant and the 8MW Wang Ploeng Solar plant, with total installed capacity of 63MW. These are among the world’s largest thin-film solar power plants, built on about 1,400 rai (224 hectares) in Lop Buri province and utilising more than 520,000 |thin-film photovoltaic panels.
The two plants are operating commercially, with one delivering electricity into the system since 2011 and the other since 2013.
Sahust said this transaction would enhance EGCO Group’s portfolio for solar-power business in accordance with its policy of investing in renewable-energy projects.
Furthermore, the company will recognise immediate earnings in proportion to the additional shares in NED, which is in line with the group’s strategic plan to seek new investment opportunities both domestically and overseas by acquiring commercially operated power plants and investing in greenfield projects, he added.
Lopburi Solar sells its net electricity output to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand under a five-year non-firm power purchase agreement (PPA) under the Small Power Producer (SPP) scheme.
Meanwhile, Wang Ploeng Solar sells its net electricity output to the Provincial Electricity Authority under a five-year non-firm PPA under the Very Small Power Producer (VSPP) scheme.
Both PPAs are automatically renewed every five years.
In addition to the wholesale tariff, the projects receive adders of Bt8 per kilowatt-hour for 10 years from the commercial-operation date.
