GPP moves forward on 225 MW in Cambodia

GPP — a venture involving Cambodian, Laotian and Thai investors — will spend roughly $10 million on the first 15 MW phase, in which solar panels will be installed at an industrial park in Kampong Speu province. Its projected investment in the full 225 MW plan has been estimated at about $400 million, according to an online statement.

The company aims to eventually build several solar projects to generate electricity for industrial and commercial customers based in Cambodia’s Kampong Speu, Takeo and Kampong Chhnang provinces. It secured approval for its planned build-out from the Cambodian authorities in late 2015.

Cambodia’s cumulative installed PV capacity stood at just 12.2 MW at the end of 2016, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). However, GPP’s 225 MW plan is the second major solar project to be announced in the country this year. 

In April, Singapore-based developer Sunseap obtained $9.2 million in financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to back the construction of Cambodia’s first large-scale solar plant. The 10 MW installation in Bavet — a special economic zone near the Vietnamese border in Svay Rieng province — was scheduled to start generating electricity by the end of August. The company’s local unit, Sunseap (Asset) Cambodia, has already locked in a 20-year PPA with state-owned utility Electricité Du Cambodge (EDC). However, it has not yet said whether it completed the project according to schedule.

Separately, the ADB revealed plans in June to back EDC’s 100 MW National Solar Park Program. The development lender will primarily provide technical, logistical and financial support for the project, which will be built in two 30 MW and 70 MW phases.