BrazilThailand expands wind energy production with Sarahnlom project
Thailand is expanding its installed wind capacity with the addition of 67.5MW at the Sarahnlom wind farm. The project will generate enough electricity for around 69,000 homes. Mott MacDonald acted as the lender’s technical advisor for Siam Commercial Bank.
The global shift to sustainable energy has seen increased focus on wind-farms. The technology is now relatively mature, with global deployment at scale being rolled out as countries seek to reduce their carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement targets. As a result, much of the world’s electricity production will need to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
Thailand has accelerated its mission to install renewable capacity, beating naysayers to its plan to have 3 GW of installed wind capacity by 2036, by hitting a fifth of installed capacity of wind at 627.82 MW at the end of 2017. Meanwhile the 6 GW plan for solar installation is already almost halfway to completion, with 2.7 GW of installed capacity.
The country is continuing with its wind-farm installation programme through the Sarahnlom wind-farm development located on the border of the Nakhon Ratchasima and Lopbur provinces. The project will see the installation of Siemens Gamesa 2.1MW G114 machines, with a total generation capacity of 67.5MW. The construction is said to have the tallest wing-span of any wind-farm in the Asia-Pacific region, at 210 metres, whose sweeps will generate enough electricity for around 69,000 homes.
To oversee the development and build of the project for financers Siam Commercial Bank, Mott MacDonald has provided technical due diligence for the project’s financial stage as part of its achieving financial close. The work was relatively broad, including social and environmental reports related to the on-the ground impact of the programme, while also checking construction and operations planning, design and energy yield projections and construction monitoring services – the firm will continue to monitor the operation going forward on behalf of the creditors.
Rahul Kohli, Mott MacDonald’s project manager, said, “We have worked for Siam Commercial Bank on a number of wind projects in Thailand. This experience proved significantly useful when alleviating any of their concerns about the country-specific challenges that would be faced on the scheme. Sarahnlom will help Thailand achieve its goals of having 30% of its total energy consumption coming from renewable sources and a total of 3002MW installed wind capacity by 2036.”
Recently, the firm reached financial closure with a similar consulting assignment for the Asian Development Bank on the ‘Tolo 1’ project in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi, which with twenty 3.6 MW Siemens Gamesa turbines will have a total production capacity of approximately 72 MW; sufficient for around 149,000 households. Mott MacDonald has likewise stayed on to provide its financers with construction and operations monitoring services.
