Thailand’s B.Grimm Eyes Clean Power Projects in China and Greece

(Bloomberg) -- Thai energy producer B.Grimm Power Pcl is considering investing in renewable energy in China and Greece as it pushes ahead with efforts to more than double its generation capacity by 2030.

The company is looking at projects in the two countries with a combined capacity of “several hundred megawatts,” B.Grimm Chief Executive Officer Harald Link said in an interview. The potential investments were still at the discussion stage he said, declining to provide further details.

B.Grimm has an ambitious expansion plan to raise its total generation capacity to 10 gigawatts by the end of the decade, from around 4 gigawatts now. The listed unit of Thailand’s oldest conglomerate — which is also involved in property development and health care — has been growing its renewable energy business since 2015.

The power producer already has generation plants in the US, Italy, Australia and across Asia, and is targeting most of its growth through 2030 from outside of Thailand, Link said, adding that it’s also expecting to develop more solar and wind farms in South Korea.

“Overseas investments have significant risk with different rules and regulations,” he said. “But we have to accelerate the foreign expansion to meet our aggressive growth plan.” 

In Thailand, B.Grimm is planning to triple its imports of liquefied natural gas next year to around 450,000 tons to feed its domestic power plants, Link said. The company made its first direct LNG purchases this year after getting approval from the regulator.

B.Grimm’s shares have dropped 14% this year, and the company has a market capitalization of around $1.8 billion. It reported a 44% slump in net income in the first half due to falling demand from industrial customers in Thailand. 

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