SET-listed SPCG, a pioneer in solar farm development in Thailand, expects to start building solar farms with a combined power generation capacity of 500 megawatts in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) under the Srettha Thavisin administration.
The construction was delayed for almost two years as the company spent time selecting suitable areas for the project and needed to wait for a new secretary-general of the EEC Office to grant a licence.
SPCG chose 61 areas, spanning 3,000 rai of land in the EEC, and bought them for around 3 billion baht.
The EEC, which covers parts of Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao provinces, is expected to be developed into the country's high-tech industrial hub, hosting 12 targeted S-curve industries.
The solar farm project requires 12 billion baht for the first phase of development, with a capacity of 300MW. The company plans to spend another 8 billion baht for the second phase, adding capacity of 200MW.
Wandee Khunchornyakong, chief executive of SPCG, said the company expects to earn 1.5 billion baht a year once solar farms in the first phase start operation.
Revenue is projected to increase to 2 billion baht annually after the second phase is completed, she said.
In another development, SPCG cooperated with Innopower Co, an energy developer under state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, to inspect its 36 solar farms across Thailand as the company aims to join the Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) scheme.
REC is an economic incentive aimed at encouraging power plant owners to produce electricity from clean fuel. Each REC, which certifies that the bearer generates one megawatt-hour from renewable energy resources, can be traded as an energy commodity.
The solar farms examined by Innopower Co, which acts as an REC trade management firm, have a total capacity of 260MW.
Mrs Wandee expects REC trade to start in the fourth quarter of this year. The company also plans to sell RECs as part of its rooftop solar panel business, she said. SPCG has installed solar panels for more than 200 firms nationwide.
Overseas, SPCG plans to invest 1.13 billion baht in the development of the 480MW Ukujima Mega Solar Farm, which is currently under construction. The project is scheduled to start commercial operations by July 2025.