Banpu Power Plc, a power producer, is proposing to make an investment of $200 million (6.67 billion baht) in renewable energy projects in Texas to supplement its current shale gas and electricity holdings.
According to CEO Kirana Limpaphayom, Banpu Power wants to install solar and wind facilities totalling roughly 400 megawatts (MW) capacity in Texas in the upcoming year.
Kirana said, by 2025, the Texas projects may account for half of Banpu’s international renewable portfolio, which also encompasses installations in China, Japan and Australia.
Citing the high sustainable energy demands in Texas, Kirana said in an interview that requirements in the US state are equivalent to that of Thailand.
Texas has yearly demand growth of 1% to 2% and an appropriate environment for solar and wind farms, thus offering more growth opportunities.
Banpu Power and a group firm paid $430 million buying a Texas power maker earlier this year, with the goal of supplying natural gas from its own shale gas holdings in the US.
“While consumption in Thailand grows year after year, supply from power projects grows at the same rate, implying that there are more opportunities overseas,” he added.
According to BloombergNEF, Thailand’s lack of new capacity expansion programmes, as well as its high reserve margin in the electricity system, is projected to stifle development in solar and wind generating capacity for the next five years.
With an oversupply condition and a deficiency of considerably large-scale outlooks, BloombergNEF analysts Allen Tom Abraham and Caroline Chua wrote in a note on Nov 22 that community biomass and biogas projects will be one of the key drivers of renewable power expansions in Thailand.
Thai enterprises with a US focus, such as B.Grimm Group and Electricity Generating Plc, have greater growth prospects outside their own country.
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