Prac restructuring won’t slow solar

Thailand’s renewable energy developer and operator Prime Road Power Public Co is establishing a new subsidiary to support the company’s expansion in Cambodia, Japan’s NNA news agency reported.

NNA News said Prime Road will transfer its assets to the new subsidiary, which will have 32 million baht ($1 million) of registered ordinary shares, according to a filing with the Thailand Stock Exchange.

The yet-to-be-named subsidiary will take over 100 per cent of Prime Road Alternative (Cambodia) Co Ltd (Prac) the company said in a statement.

The statement said: “The move is to restructure the holding company to support the expansion of foreign investment and project developments in Cambodia.”

Ministry of Mines and Energy’s General Department of Energy director-general Victor Jona told The Post on Monday the move will not affect a 60MW solar power project in Kampong Chhnang province, which is expected to connect to the national grid next year.

“We have made important progress, including the power purchase agreement and the project implementation agreement, so from now on the company will prepare the land for solar equipment installation,” Jona said.

Prac won the rights to the project at an Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) auction in September with a low bid of $0.03877 per kilowatt-hour, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The 60MW project is part of a 100MW national solar park in Kampong Chhnang province, which is structured as a public-private partnership.

The facility will produce a capacity of 78,000kW when finished in the fourth quarter of 2021 and will be operated by EdC, according to NNA.

EdC director-general Keo Rottanak said in July the government will prioritise renewable energy development rather than hydroelectric power.

Rattanak said Cambodia will expand its solar energy investment by 12 per cent by the end of 2020 and increase to 20 per cent over the next three years.

Prac’s revenue last year was 658 million baht with a profit of 265 million baht.

It expects revenue to climb further this year to 700 million baht from electricity sales committed in agreements and 300 million baht from solar rooftop projects, according to its filing statement. Its first-quarter revenue was 187 million baht.

Source : phnompenhpost