Australian based renewable energy developer, CBD Energy, has bought a 30% stake of the Environmental Engineering Group (EEG) Thailand.
EEG will also be granted a sub-licence to utilise CBD’s subsidiary for rooftop PV installations, the ‘Westinghouse Solar’ brand name, in Thailand.
Westinghouse Solar also has a partnership with Thailand’s government-run utility regulator, the Provincial Electricity Authority’s renewable energy subsidiary, PEA ENCOM, for a commercial rooftop solar programme.
As part of the agreement, CBD will now also be involved in EEG’s Thai project pipeline of over 100MW.
In an additional agreement on 1 August, EEG will assist CBD in the construction of a US$112 million, 64MW solar power project portfolio, also in Thailand, with 25 year Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) already signed with PEA.
CBD Energy’s executive chairman Gerry McGowan said the move was part of a strategy for geographical diversification. “We feel Thailand represents an incredible opportunity to capitalise on a rapidly developing market with growing power needs, and blends well with projects we have under development in North America, Europe, UK and Australia,” he said.
Thailand’s solar market appears to be gaining ground after stalling during the recent political turmoil. Last week, solar farm developer, SPCG and PV module manufacturer, Kyocera announced the completion of 35 utility-scale solar PV plants totalling 257MW. All 75MW is connected to the grid in north east Thailand with power from the 35 projects, also to be supplied to PEA.
