Thai power firm B.Grimm eyes investing in the U.S.

Thailand’s power conglomerate, B.Grimm, is considering new investments in the U.S., saying that it is searching for renewable energy opportunities in America as part of its overseas expansion strategy.

“The renewables side is very interesting at the moment. We have such growth potential in the energy sector,” said Caroline Link, President of B.Grimm Joint Venture Holding Company in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

Link said that in addition to the U.S., the company was also looking at possible investments in Eastern Europe as well as Vietnam, Malaysia and South Korea. At the moment, over 26 percent of the company’s 2,000 megawatts of energy is generated from renewables. She said the company wanted that percentage to be higher.

The majority of B.Grimm’s power is produced from natural gas combined cycle cogeneration plants. However, the firm has been steadily increasing its solar, wind and hydropower capacities.  The company provides its power to national grids in Thailand, Lao PDR and Vietnam. It also supplies power to several industrial estates.

B.Grimm was founded as a pharmacy in Bangkok in 1878 known as “Siam Dispensary.” Link’s great-grandfather bought the company about a century ago. Over the years, the firm has moved into other healthcare businesses, real estate, industrial systems, e-commerce and transport.

Energy, however, has become a major focus of the conglomerate through its subsidiary, B.Grimm Power. In recent years, the conglomerate has posted 22 percent average annual growth.

In the U.S., B.Grimm also has long-standing joint ventures with Florida-based Carrier Global Corp., for heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration products.

Photo courtesy of https://www.bgrimmpower.com/en/power-plants/domestic/46/bgrimm-power-wha-1-limited