SOWITEC, a German project developer for renewable energy projects, is entering the Thai market. The company is opening a branch office in Bangkok and acquiring a medium-sized project pipeline of wind and solar energy projects.
SOWITEC is expecting further growth in the renewable energy industry in Thailand and is planning to develop energy projects in the gigawatt range during the coming years. "Our market entry in Thailand offers huge potential; at the same time, it represents a new challenge in our international portfolio and will open the door to further markets in the Asia-Pacific region for SOWITEC," Managing Director Frank Hummel said.
Thailand now has an installed wind power capacity of 200 MW and was able to increase its solar capacity to 1.3 GW by introducing a feed-in tariff for solar energy projects in 2014. The Southeast Asian country introduced a specific development plan for renewable energies with the objective of expanding the proportion of renewables to 20.3% of the total energy mix by 2022.
Since the mid-nineties, Thailand has introduced various regulations and programmes designed to increase energy security through the use of alternative energy sources. The first step to provide financial support for promoting new and renewable energy technologies was taken by the government as early as 1992, when it introduced the Energy Conservation Programme (ENCON).
Katharina Garus / Sowitec
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