B.Grimm’s solar project in Cambodia’s in Serie Saophoan is 20 percent complete

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A solar farm in Kampong Spue province. EDC

B.Grimm’s solar project in Cambodia’s in Serie Saophoan is 20 percent complete

Thailand-based Energy Company B.Grimm Power said its solar project in Cambodia is 20 percent complete after the firm took over the project from a local power company late last year.

B.Grimm completed the acquisition of local company Ray Power Supply Co Ltd last November for $300,000.

In its recent 2020 Q1 report, the company said the solar farm project – with an installed capacity of 39 megawatts (mW) – is being constructed in Serie Saophoan, Banteay Meanchey province, shared with the Thai border.

One mW can produce as much as about 5 hours of electricity a day, but many factors can influence this.

The solar farm is expected to be operational by October. The project is built under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with national utility Electricite Du Cambodge (EDC).

Despite the unfavourable economic situation spurred by the global pandemic, the company posted a normalised net profit (NNP) of about $36.2million in the first quarter, up 54 percent over the corresponding period last year.

“We do not expect COVID-19 to cause major disruptions to our business,” the company said, adding that most of its revenues come from long-term PPAs with state-owned enterprises, while those in the industrial users segment remained stable in year-on-year terms because of a diversified portfolio and new customers.

The company said it boasted several projects in adevelopment that will raise total power capacity to 3,547mW from 47 projects across Asia-Pacific by the end of this year.

Construction work on five solar parks is being fast-tracked so they can be connected to the national grid as soon as possible this year, according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

The projects – according to the ministry – spread over Svay Reign, Pursat, Kampong Speu, Battambang and Banteay Meanchay provinces – will cumulatively boost the nation’s annual power supply by a total of 160 mW.

Plans are also already in motion for two further solar farms to start generating energy in 2021. They are in Kampong Chnang and Pursat provinces and will contribute a further 120 mW of power to the national grid every year when fully operational.

The nation’s total power supply generated increased from 2,635 mW in 2018 to 3,382 mW in 2019, a 28 percent year-on-year increase. About 33 percent was generated from hydropower dams, 33 percent through coal-fired plants, 25 percent in imports from Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos, 7 percent from biomass and 1.3 percent from other renewable energy.

Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50723289/b-grimms-solar-project-sees-20-percent-complete/