Thailand
Lao power generation firm seeking partners to boost capacity
Majority Lao state-owned power generation firm, EDL-Generation Plc (EDL-Gen), is seeking strategic private partnerships in neighbouring countries to boost its total capacity by 25% to fulfil growing regional energy demand.
It plans to increase its capacity to 2,435 megawatts by 2029 from 1,949MW currently.
The additional capacity will come from hydroelectric power plants currently in the pipeline, including seven wholly-owned power plants and eight more under the independent power producer (IPP) scheme. The projects will be either reservoir or run-off river hydroelectric plants.
IPPs that have joint ventures with EDL-Gen include Nam Theun 1, Nam Dik 1, Nam Phoun, Nam Bi unit 1-3 and Pak Beng, which are currently under construction.
EDL-Gen is one of the main power generation firms in Laos with a market share of 17% in terms of generation capacity.
Duangsy Pharanhok, managing director of EDL-Gen, said on Tuesday that the company is striving to achieve the Lao government’s goal of being the “Battery of Asia” through its hydroelectric power plants which can produce as much as 30,000MW nationwide based on an estimate by the World Bank.
The company is currently exporting power to neighbouring countries, including Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam and in the long term, it wishes to export to Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore as a part of the Asean Power Grid scheme.
He said that by the end of last year, Laos had exported 5,961MW to neighbouring countries with the remaining 4,011MW feeding domestic demand.
In a couple of decades, the country will have the potential to develop capacity up to 30,000MW, mostly from hydroelectric plants. Most of this extra capacity will be exported to other Asean nations.
“Our target will not only strengthen energy security in Asean but also follow the global trend of green energy development,” he said.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2106631/lao-power-generation-firm-seeking-partners-to-boost-capacity