ENERGY / ALTERNATIVE SOURCES AND PETROCHEMICALS

Wind power may come to South

YUTHANA PRAIWAN

Three Thai energy companies and a Japanese operator are teaming up to pioneer a 1.8-billion-baht wind-power project in southern Thailand. The three Thai participants are PTT Plc, Electricity Generating Plc (Egco), Wind Energy Generating Co (Wegco). They will join with Eurus Energy Japan Corp, the largest wind-power company in Japan, which is 60% owned by Tokyo Electric Company (Tepco).

The four parties are scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding on Feb 19 to collaborate in developing the project with a capacity of up to 35 megawatts, Southern Thailand was chosen as the location because it has higher winds than other regions of the country.

The participants plan a detailed feasibility study as a follow-up to a preliminary report done by an independent wind power consultant from Denmark, which indicated good potential.

The study will take about 18 months to complete and if the venture goes ahead, the country's first wind farm could be operational two years after that. The total project cost, if fully completed, is estimated at 1.8 billion baht.

According to Egco president Visit Akaravinak, the area between Songkhla and Nakhon Si Thammarat is considered the prime location for the project.

The partners have not yet worked out a shareholding structure for the project. However, Egco was ready to be a major shareholder if the wind farm proved commercially viable, Mr Visit said.The government is attempting to promote the use of more renewable energy in Thailand but the main focus so far has been on biomass projects. Wind power has not been high on the list of local options because of limited wind resources compared with countries such as Denmark and Britain.

However, new technologies that make wind power generation cheaper, coupled with rising global energy costs, have lifted wind power into the mainstream of renewable energy.

The National Energy Policy Council has approved subsidies for various alternative and renewable energy developments to encourage investments. For wind power, the government would subsidise electricity prices at 2.5 baht per unit (kilowatt/hour).

PTT and Egco are leading energy companies in Thailand, while Wegco is a newly established company controlled by the Hua Kee Group, a major paper suppliers and one of the major shareholders in Bangkok Cogeneration Co, a 113-MW small power producer (SPP).

Bangkok Post
Sunday February 11, 2007