BCPG Plc [BCPG:TB], a renewable energy unit of Thailand’s state-run Bangchak Corporation Plc [BCP:TB], would secure a THB22bn (USD660m) loan from the Asian Development Bank [ATB:AU] for developing a monsoon wind power generation project in Laos, as reported by Bangkok Post on December 17. With a capacity of 600 megawatts (MW), BCPG stated that the wind farm will be the largest in Southeast Asia. Impact Energy Asia Development (IEAD), a joint venture between BCPG and Impact Wind Investment, plans to start constructing the monsoon wind project in the second half of 2022 and start commercial operation by 2025. By then, the project will supply clean electricity from Laos to Quảng Nam province in Vietnam through a 500-kilovolt transmission line, under an agreement between IEAD and Vietnam’s electricity firm EVN.

In addition to multilateral development banks such as the ADB, the monsoon wind project has also attracted other potential investors, including Thai and overseas commercial banks, according to BCPG’s CEO Bundit Sapianchai. The project is expected to reduce 35m tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over its lifetime, as a supplement to Laos’ clean energy mix. As of the end of 2019, Laos’ renewable arsenal comprised 8,019 megawatts (MW) of hydropower as well as 75 MW of biomass and solar energy, accounting for over 80% of the total electricity generation capacity. Based on the abundance of clean energy, Laos aims to become the battery of Southeast Asia and a regional hub for electricity transmission. The Southeast Asian country aims to boost its renewable energy installation in order to export 6,017 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity in 2025 when it expects the domestic power consumption to reach 13,621 GWh.

Sources:

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2233307/adb-to-arrange-new-monsoon-wind-loan

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/thai-energy-firm-bcpg-signs-laos-wind-power-sale-with-vietnam-2021-07-13/

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/2019-02/14/c_137821006.htm

https://laotiantimes.com/2020/10/07/domestic-electricity-consumption-on-the-rise-in-laos/

https://reglobal.co/hydro-power-development-in-laos/