SET-listed BCPG Plc, the renewable energy arm of Bangchak Corporation Plc, is confident that its solar farm projects in Japan won't suffer from a deadline for grid connection payment from the Japanese government.
The deadline is August, as the government will clear all approved solar farms that have not bought land plots or paid for grid connection. The disqualified projects will see their feed-in tariff cut to ¥21 per kilowatt-hour from ¥42.
The move is to accelerate development from solar licence holders. Similar to Thailand's scheme, licence holders in Japan sometimes delay their developments to resell their licences to speculators or other investors.
President Bundit Sapianchai said BCPG has three applications that are pending approval from the Japanese government within the time frame.
These include a solar farm in Yabuki, Fukushima prefecture with a capacity of 27.9 megawatts that is being considered for construction.
"We will start construction in the middle of the year and commence operation in 2020," Mr Bundit said. "The other two solar farms are under construction."
BCPG has renewable power projects in Japan with a total capacity of 168.7MW, of which 17.4MW is in operation. The remaining 151.3MW is being developed.
In early October, BCPG completed asset transactions for two solar power projects in Japan to become part of an infrastructure fund. Those projects have a total production capacity of 27.5MW: the Nikaho project with 13.2MW and the Nagi project with 14.3MW. The infrastructure fund is also in Japan.
This asset transaction had a value of ¥10.4 billion (3.02 billion baht), and BCPG booked a net gain after a 658-million-baht corporate income tax deduction.
BCPG is keen on the renewable power projects in Japan as one of the firm's targeted countries to expand its business presence, along with Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
BCPG aims to have renewable power projects totalling 1,000MW in the next five years, up from 572MW now, of which 381MW is now in operation and the remaining 191MW is under development.