Thai wind power project wins Asian Development Bank funding

Thailand’s transformation to a greener economy gained pace last week as the Asian Development Bank announced it will help finance a wind power project in Southern Thailand that will utilize a pilot battery storage system, a new combination in the Kingdom.

The bank said that the Southern Thailand Wind Power and Battery Energy Storage Project “is the first private sector initiative in Thailand to integrate utility-scale wind power generation with a battery energy storage system.”

Critics of wind and solar power have said their weaknesses are the inability to generate electricity when there is no wind or sun. But transferring the power to batteries allows the energy to be stored. That is also beneficial when the local power grid is already at capacity, but the excess energy would be needed later.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said that the project’s battery storage component “will help ensure the stability and reliability of the renewable energy source.”

The ADB will loan Lomligor Company Limited, a subsidiary of BCPG Public Company Limited, $7.2 million to finance the 10-megawatt power plant.

“This project contributes to Thailand’s Power Development Plan targets for clean energy and also demonstrates the potential of integrated renewables and batteries to provide clean energy for southern Thailand,” said Infrastructure Finance Division Director for Southeast Asia, East Asia.

Thailand is aiming to generate at least 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2036. The Kingdom is already the leader in wind and solar power generation in Southeast Asia.

Photo courtesy of https://thailandtourismdirectory.go.th/