Latest news with #Yupapin
Bangkok Post
7 days ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Gulf acquires hydropower project in Laos for $128m
SET-listed Gulf Development, a telecom operator and Thailand's largest energy company by market value, has purchased the entire shareholding of the Pak Lay hydropower project in Laos for US$128 million to boost its renewable power generation and revenue by supplying electricity to Thailand. The company earlier invested in the project by holding a 40% stake in Pak Lay Power Co, a joint venture, with 60% of the investment funded by Sinohydro (Hong Kong) Holding Co. It decided to purchase all the shares held by Sinohydro in order to wholly own the project, which will supply electricity to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand under a 29-year power purchase agreement, said Gulf chief financial officer Yupapin Wangviwat. The Pak Lay hydropower plant, with an electricity generation capacity of 770 megawatts, is scheduled to commence commercial operations in 2032. The facility, located on a stretch of the Mekong River in Pak Lay district in Xayaburi province, is a run-of-the-river hydropower plant that generates electricity by using the natural water flow, with no large reservoir. The development cost of the Pak Lay project, which was not revealed, is part of Gulf's 90-billion-baht investment budget for 2025-2029. Up to 80% of the budget will support the company's renewable energy development, while the remainder will go to gas-fired power plant and gas businesses as well as digital and infrastructure businesses. 'The Pak Lay investment is aligned with Gulf's strategy to increase the proportion of power generation from renewable energy sources in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,' said Ms Yupapin.
Bangkok Post
15-07-2025
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Gulf acquires renewable power projects for B1.1bn
SET-listed Gulf Development, Thailand's largest energy company by market value, is continuing to boost its renewable power generation capacity by spending 1.1 billion baht to acquire waste-to-energy power plants and refuse-derived fuel production projects held by two companies. Earth Tech Environment Plc, which owns shares in 12 waste-to-energy power plant projects, and Better World Green Plc, a major shareholder in three refuse-derived fuel production projects, have decided to sell their entire shareholdings in the projects to Gulf. The transactions were carried out by Gulf's wholly owned subsidiary Gulf Waste to Energy Holdings, which previously held some shares in these projects but wanted to increase its stakes. "We are confident the increase in our shareholding will help enhance the flexibility of project management," said Yupapin Wangviwat, Gulf's chief financial officer. "These projects have a long-term growth potential." The 12 waste-to-energy power plant projects, with a combined electricity generation capacity of 96 megawatts, are under power purchase agreements (PPAs) made with the Provincial Electricity Authority. They are scheduled to commence commercial operations in 2027. The three fuel production projects, also set to start operating in 2027, focus on turning industrial waste into solid recovered fuel, a high-quality fuel in the refuse-derived fuel category. Also known as SRF, solid recovered fuel has to undergo rigorous treatment to meet specific standards for industrial use. Gulf's buyout of the shares in these projects follows the National Energy Policy Council's approval of the state's plan to purchase electricity from waste-to-energy power plants under the 2018 power development plan, said Ms Yupapin. The purchase is based on a feed-in tariff, the state's guarantee to purchase electricity from renewable plants at fixed prices throughout the whole period of the PPAs. Gulf's investment in the projects aligns with its commitment to a higher proportion of power generation from renewable sources, part of the company's campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The investment also supports better management of industrial waste through value-added creation from waste, Ms Yupapin added. Gulf earlier spent 704 million baht acquiring a 50% share in Gunkul Solar Powergen Co and another 50% share in Gunkul One Energy 2 Co. The two firms, subsidiaries of SET-listed Gunkul Engineering, an integrated clean energy developer, are preparing to develop nine solar farms with a combined capacity of 461MW.
Bangkok Post
29-06-2025
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Gulf hits renewable target 5 years early
SET-listed Gulf Development, Thailand's largest energy company by market value and a telecom operator, has achieved its target to increase its renewable power proportion to 40% of total electricity generation capacity following a recent investment in solar farms. The company reached the goal ahead of the target year of 2030. "If we calculate our renewable power generation only for power plants in operation, the proportion is 10%. But if we include projects recently signed with the government, then we meet the 40% target," said Yupapin Wangviwat, chief financial officer of Gulf. "These projects are set to start commercial operation soon." Gulf recently announced it spent 704 million baht through its wholly-owned subsidiary Gulf Renewable Energy Co to acquire a 50% share in Gunkul Solar Powergen Co and another 50% share in Gunkul One Energy 2 Co. The two firms, subsidiaries of SET-listed Gunkul Engineering, an integrated clean energy developer, are preparing to develop nine solar farms with combined capacity of 461 megawatts. The firms won licences to develop the solar farms in an auction held under the Energy Regulatory Commission's renewable energy scheme that had a total capacity of 5.3 gigawatts. Gunkul already signed power purchase agreements with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to sell electricity from the solar farms. The facilities, which will supply power to Egat for 25 years, are scheduled to start commercial operations between 2026 and 2030. Ms Yupapin said additional renewable energy capacity will enable Gulf to supply clean power to its clients, notably data centre developers. Gulf announced earlier it would develop a data centre with an IT load of 25MW, scheduled to open in the middle of this year. The company is adopting a cautious approach to new investment this year to avoid risks caused by global economic and political uncertainties. Geopolitical conflicts in many parts of the world and a trade war among major economies can affect businesses in the energy sector. These conflicts may weaken consumer purchasing power, eventually affecting electricity demand, Sarath Ratanavadi, chief executive of Gulf, said earlier.
