Conergy's success in Thailand continues and in the process underscores its outstanding market position in Southeast Asia's growth markets. The solution and service provider has secured a major contract for two solar power plants in Thailand through a tendering procedure, representing a total capacity of 21 megawatts. The awarding authority is Thai Solar Energy Company Limited (TSE), which is a local investor with a registered office in Bangkok. Conergy will be the main contractor for those two projects, responsible both for planning, engineering and design as well as for component supply and installation of the two power plants. The solar parks are located in Suphanburi Province and in Kanchanaburi Province and cover almost 500,000 square meters. For the onsite construction, Conergy will work with its long-term local partners, Annex Power and the Ensys Group.
TSE's COO, Ms. Cathleen Maleenont: "We use the best technology and know-how for our projects."
Thai Solar Energy is one of Thailand's solar pioneers. Today TSE already operates one solar thermal power plant with a total capacity of 5 megawatts in the Kingdom of Thailand, also located in Kanchanaburi. Now the company is expanding its portfolio with the two Conergy installations. "Since its inception, TSE has been dedicated to sustainability and protection of the environment. Furthermore, we use the best technology and expertise available on the market in building solar plants," said Cathleen Maleenont, Chief Operating Officer of Thai Solar Energy Co. Ltd. "Conergy aligns perfectly with our aspiration as it has many years of success to show for itself in Thailand, with the construction of highly efficient installations according to European standards. That's why we are very excited to have Conergy as a partner in this flagship project."
Conergy's CSO Marc Lohoff: "Conergy is a leader in the most attractive market in SEA."
"Now with six power plants totalling 48 megawatts, Conergy is one of the market leaders in Thailand," said Marc Lohoff, Conergy CSO Asia Pacific and Americas. "Thailand is not only Conergy's most important solar market in Asia, it is also currently the most attractive one in the region. It's a market where we know the local conditions in detail and where we are very well positioned. We want to expand that position in the future and are pursuing some very interesting opportunities there," Lohoff added.
Conergy's President Asia & ME Alexander Lenz: "By 2022, renewables should cover 25% of the country's energy requirements."
The potential in the sunshine-drenched "Land of Smiles" is large: Thailand averages irradiation levels of more than 1,800 kilowatt hours per square metre annually across the country and has a well-developed grid infrastructure. What's more, the government is committed to clean, sustainable forms of energy and is pursuing ambitious goals in this area.
"The Thai government wants to meet one quarter of the country's energy requirements using renewable energy sources by the year 2022. This is providing a baseline of support to the development of a solar energy market in Thailand," stated Alexander Lenz, President Asia & Middle East for Conergy. "The country currently still imports around half of the national energy needs at high costs. Each new solar installation contributes to the gradual reduction of both dependence on energy imports and their costs for the government."
Thailand promotes solar using power purchase agreements with energy providers
Licenses are used in Thailand to promote solar energy, similar to their use in the US. What are known as power purchase agreements (PPAs) guarantee that the government power provider, the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), will pay a set purchase price for solar electricity to the park operator. According to the Solar Power Policy dialogue that took place in September, of the 2,205 megawatts of PPAs that have been approved, only about 286 megawatts are currently connected to the grid. The remaining 1,919 megawatts are still in the pipeline.
Thai power purchase agreements comprise the average electricity price plus a premium which is called an "adder." This adder is currently set at 6.5 Thai Baht – which is around 16 euro cents – and is guaranteed for 10 years. A power plant owner thus receives the sum of the average electricity grid price plus the adder as compensation. A feed-in tariff for commercial rooftop installations is also under consideration in the Kingdom in order to give more impetus to the use of renewable energy sources for electricity.
Conergy installations will supply solar energy to 14,000 Thai households
The two new solar installations are pursuing this goal as well. A total of almost 86,000 Conergy modules on around 86 kilometres of Conergy SolarLinea mounting systems will produce more than 29,500 megawatt hours of clean electricity after the power plants are completed in February 2013. That is enough to supply 14,000 local households in the Kingdom of Thailand. These solar installations also avoid creating about 15,700 tons of damaging CO2 emissions annually, which is more than what 1,570 hectares of forest area can absorb in the same period of time.