Thai firm strikes deal to sell green power to Viet Nam


 

Thailand’s regional energy ambitions got a boost last week when BCPG, the Kingdom’s largest private renewable power company, signed a 25-year-deal to sell electricity to Viet Nam from wind farms it is developing in Lao PDR.

“The deal is significant in that it represents the first wind power facility in the region that will supply electricity across a national border,” said Bundit Sapianchai, BCPG President and Chief Executive Officer. Thailand is the leader in Southeast Asia in energy production from wind and solar.

The project, named Monsoon Wind, is worth $840 million, and is a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan. Construction is expected to start next year and the wind farm is scheduled to start operations by December 2025.

It will be developed on 158,000 acres in Sekong and Attapeu provinces in southern Lao PDR. The country aspires to be “the battery of Southeast Asia” with its numerous hydropower projects and other investments in energy production.

Lao PDR generates hydropower from dams on the Mekong River, which runs along its borders with Thailand and Myanmar as it flows southward, eventually passing through Viet Nam before spilling into the sea.

Monsoon Wind will generate 600 megawatts and supply electricity through a 500-kilovolt-transmission line to central Vietnam. The project is expected to reduce Viet Nam’s greenhouse gas emissions by 35 million tons and help the country achieve its goal of net zero emissions by he middle of the century.

Photo courtesy of https://www.bcpggroup.com/