BANGKOK, Thailand — Global Power Synergy Public Company (GPSC), the power-generation arm of Thai oil and gas conglomerate PTT, has paid 14.8 billion baht ($453 million) for a 41.6 percent interest in Indian renewable power producer Avaada Energy. PTT’s president and CEO, Auttapol Rerkpiboon, stated that the acquisition will provide the company with an additional 3,744 megawatts of renewable producing capacity. “The acquisition expands our renewable energy portfolio, in line with the group’s renewable energy aim of 8,000 MW in 2030,” Auttapol said late Tuesday in a statement, noting that PTT currently has a renewable power capacity of 2,145 MW. “This investment in India will assist India’s strategy of encouraging investment in renewable energy in a variety of forms,” Auttapol added. Expansion of PTT’s renewable energy industry is a top priority for the oil and gas behemoth. Faced with mounting investor pressure, the company needed to take the kind of bold move exemplified by the Avaada deal. PTT’s additional renewable energy capacity in India totals 3,744 MW, with 1,392 MW coming from plants that are now operational and 2,352 MW coming from solar farms that will be operational between 2021 and 2022. PTT will be able to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 4.3 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year as a result of this transaction. In addition, by 2025, Avaada wants to grow its renewable energy industry to 11,000 MW. The agreement is a critical milestone in PTT’s expansion of renewable producing capacity in India, a country with a population of over 1.3 billion people and a significant and growing need for electricity. GPSC paid 93 billion baht in March 2019 for a 69.11 percent share in Glow Energy, another Thai energy business, giving PTT a total generating capacity of 4,726 MW. PTT’s power generation sector has been steadily developing in Thailand, but several observers have pointed out that it needs to establish abroad markets rapidly./n
Read More
