Bangkok, March 18, 2010 -- Conergy Singapore (a global manufacturer of high-performance crystalline solar modules, power inverters and mounting systems), Yanhee Solar, a newly formed developer of large-scale solar power plants in Indochina, and Annex Power, a renewable energy engineering services company, have formed a consortium to construct Thailand’s largest private solar power plant. The megawatt park is situated in Ayutthaya, 70 km north of Bangkok.
The plant is expected to produce 4,471 megawatt hours of clean energy annually, while also saving at least 1,971 tons of carbon emissions per year. The 3 MW plant will be built in two phases. The first megawatt will be installed in Phase 1 which is scheduled for completion in Q2 of 2010. Phase 2 will cover the next 2 MW which is expected to be completed in Q4 2010. Power generated from the plant will be fed to the electricity grid of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) of Thailand. Once completed, this solar plant will be the first private commercial megawatt project in Thailand and the largest privately-held solar plant in Southeast Asia.
Strong Tri-Party Consortium
Under the consortium agreement, Conergy will be responsible for the design, engineering, and components supply of the project while construction and operational management will be carried out by Conergy’s exclusive partner for Indochina, Annex Power. Yanhee Solar is overseeing the project development and financing.
Conergy’s Marc Lohoff: “Yanhee solar park is a milestone for solar in Southeast Asia”
Marc Lohoff, Conergy’s Managing Director for Asia Pacific and the Middle East states: This 3 MW installation is a key milestone for the solar sector in Asia. We’re excited to work for Yanhee and look forward to supporting Thailand’s campaign to develop a strong infrastructure for renewable energy.”
Dr Supot Sumritvanitcha, Manager Director of Yanhee Solar, adds: “Yanhee Solar is committed to push forward renewable energy technologies. We selected Conergy and Annex Power because of their superior solutions and broad global experience. For our first venture into the energy sector, we wanted to partner with established industry leaders, making this consortium the obvious choice.”
Asia to account for nearly 20% of 2010’s worldwide new installed capacity
Solar energy has been rapidly gaining momentum in Asia within the last few months – and it will continue to grow rapidly in the future. According to a forecast made by the experts of Sarasin Bank Asia will account for more nearly 20% of 2010’s worldwide new installed PV capacity. One of the most promising markets will be India with an estimated market growth of 98%. Most governments in the region have publicly announced ambitious plans to switch to alternative energy sources and reduce the impact of power generation to the environment. These national energy programs apply a comprehensive approach to stimulate investment in renewable energy including income tax holidays, customs & duty exemptions, attractive feed-in-tariff subsidies and guaranteed access to the electricity grid.
Thailand, in particular, is poised to experience extraordinary growth this year. In 2010 it is expected to more than double its installed base of PV systems. Thailand’s goal is to provide 20.4 percent of the country’s energy requirements from renewable resources by 2022. A feed in tariff or “adder” rate of up to 9.50 baht/kWh for solar energy was introduced last year to encourage more power generation from renewable energy. The Thai market has since responded very favorably, with first-phase approvals for PV generating facilities rising to 1 GW. |