Thailand's leading energy conglomerate B.Grimm Power Plc (BGRIM) and EDL-Generation Public Co (EDL-Gen) of Laos have signed an agreement to collaborate on wide-ranging power-related ventures and meet Asean's clean energy demands.
Harald Link, president of BGRIM, and Duangsy Pharanhok, chief executive of EDL-Gen, inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly explore the feasibility of developing hydropower, wind power, solar energy, transmission systems and power trading in domestic and overseas markets.
Vientiane-based EDL-Gen is part of state power enterprise Electricite du Laos (EDL), which was listed on the local Stock Exchange in 2017.
The firm has total installed capacity of 1,949 megawatts with 1,683MW derived from 27 power plants in operation.
Production comes from 10 hydropower stations which are wholly-owned by EDL-Gen and 16 plants under the independent power producer (IPP) joint-private partnership scheme.
EDL-Gen's development of hydroelectric power projects is geared towards joint investment with IPPs as a means to attract foreign investment to Laos.
By 2029, EDL-Gen aims to have a total of 42 power plants with a combined installed capacity of 2,435MW.
Thailand is a major buyer of electricity from EDL-Gen, accounting for up to 42% of the firm's total installed electricity generation.
This is why BGRIM has sought to expand investment in power plants both at home and abroad and pursue joint ventures with various partners to become one of the leading global energy producers.
BGRIM operates 56 power plants and has targeted to ramp up its power sale contracts to 7,200MW by 2025 and further to 10,000MW five years later.
The company's long-term objectives is achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.