WHA Utilities and Power Plc (WHAUP), which provides utilities under WHA Corp, Thailand's biggest industrial land developer and operator, has won a contract to develop a 5-megawatt rooftop solar panel project for Auto Alliance (Thailand) Co (AAT) which runs a shared assembly facility for Ford and Mazda automakers.
The contract, which includes engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), is expected to draw more interest in WHAUP's EPC services from factories which are moving towards clean energy, including rooftop solar energy, for more environmentally-friendly operations and lower costs, according to WHAUP.
The project, which is scheduled for completion in August, will cover more than 45,000 square metres of roof space of the plant in Rayong. WHAUP will be responsible for operation and maintenance of the system for 10 years.
The installation of solar panels began in November last year.
Capital spending allocated for the AAT project was not revealed.
"We have so far signed a total of 52MW rooftop solar energy investment deals with nearly 40 customers," said WHAUP chief executive Niphon Bundechanan.
The volume exceeded WHAUP's target of 50MW by the end of 2020.
The company sets a goal to achieve total rooftop solar capacity of 100MW by 2022. It plans to expand services to cover customers both in WHA Group's industrial estates and other areas.
According to WHAUP, its investment in rooftop solar energy will play an important role in driving WHAUP's total power generation capacity to 601MW, calculated as a proportion of WHAUP shareholding in energy businesses.
WHAUP is operating and developing power generation from gas, industrial waste and solar sources.
Mr Niphon said the company is determined to provide integrated rooftop solar panel installation services and will continue to build trust among more customers.
AAT president and chief executive Kel Kearns said his company chose WHAUP because of its expertise in engineering work, safety standards as well as its integrated services.
The company expects rooftop solar panels can help it reduce production costs by up to 790 million baht over next 25 years.
The system will also enable the company to offset CO2 emissions by 92,500 tonnes.
This is in line with AAT's policy on environment protection as it wants to play a role in reducing global warming and reducing the impact of the greenhouse gases.