B Grimm Power in Bt50-bn push

President Preeyanart Soontornwata said that the company was also studying joint-venture opportunities to set up power plants in potential markets in Asean countries, including Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Preeyanart said that the company was looking for opportunities with local investors in particular countries but her company needed to control a majority of the shares and manage the ventures.
“About 52 different power plant projects have been already committed to by the company in the next five years, requiring at least Bt10 billion in investment capital annually,” she said.
Preeyanart added that the company would go ahead with its development plan for power plant projects in the third and fourth quarters of this year.
The Xenamnoy 2 and Xekatam 1 hydropower plants in Laos entered commercial operation on July 30 with better-than-expected power-generating efficiency, with an expected return of 20 per cent.
“For Thailand, we have developed our third, fourth and fifth power plant facilities at Amata City Rayong. The gas-fired, combined cycle power stations will be in commercial operation respectively in February, June and October next year, with 399 megawatts in combined capacity,” said Preeyanart.
She said that B Grimm Power was conducting feasibility studies on a number of power projects in Thailand and overseas, including a solar energy project with the War Veterans Organisation of Thailand and agricultural cooperatives. This 36-megawatt project is now being finalised. The company is also preparing to bid for a 300-megawatt renewable energy plant on the government’s SPP Hybrid Firm platform this year.
Beyond Thailand, the company is about to conclude a deal for a 180-megawatt solar power plant in Malaysia, with more feasibility studies being conducted on opportunities in the Philippines and Vietnam. Details are expected to be finalised by the end of this year. 
“We also plan for a 300-megawatt hydro power plant in Sekong 4 in Laos, in partnership with Ratchaburi Electricity Generating. The plant will supply electricity directly to Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT),” said Preeyanart, adding that the company is studying the development of new 500-megawatt solar farm in Pahang, Malaysia. The company is also looking at developing power plants at industrial estates in Phnom Penh, as well as solar rooftop and solar farm projects in Vietnam.
B Grimm Power has currently invested in 44 power plants with a total output capacity of 2,431 megawatts. Of these, 30 plants are in commercial operation with a combined output capacity of 1,646 megawatts; and 14 projects are under construction and under development with a total capacity of 785 megawatts.
Preeyanart said that in the next five years, about 70 per cent of the company’s investment would still be in the domestic market, while the other 30 per cent would be for regional expansion.
“We have plans to issue new debentures from the end of this year through to 2018 to further reduce the financial cost of our existing power plants, which have been in operation for two-three years to the same level as we managed to achieve in April. That could increase our total net profit in the future,” said Preeyanart. B Grimm Power has recorded first-half revenue of Bt15.6 billion, representing 15 per cent growth compared to the same period last year. The strong performance is mainly due to the newly operating power plants.
The main contribution to this growth is the income from Amata B Grimm Power 5 (ABP5) on Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate, and B Grimm Power (WHA) 1 (BPWHA1) on Hemaraj Industrial Estate. The power plants, which entered commercial operation on June 1 and November 1 respectively last year, are selling electricity to EGAT (62 per cent) and users on the industrial estates (29 per cent).