Solar panel joint venture coming to K Speu
Solar panel joint venture coming to K Speu
The production of more than $58 million worth of 60-megawatt solar-panels has begun in Kampong Speu province after the project was approved in May by the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), provincial governor Vy Samnang said.
Developed by Schneitec Renewable Co Ltd, the project is a joint venture between Cambodian and Chinese investors and is located on 200ha adjacent to National Road 51, in Kampong Speu’ s Oudong district.
Samnang said the company started production after submitting its environmental impact assessment (EIA) to provincial authorities.
“The first [batch] of solar panels are under production after [the company] completed its EIA report. It cleared and refilled 10 per cent of [the land allotted for] its project. [It] will attract more factories to the country, especially in Kampong Speu province,” said Samnang.
This solar panel project will increase the supply of electric power and help cut costs.
The Kingdom consumed 8.15 billion kWh of electricity over the course of last year, with 20 per cent imported from Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, said a Ministry of Mines and Energy report.
By comparison, 2016 saw 7.17 billion kWh consumed, with 22 per cent of it imported. The figures amounted to a 14 per cent rise in consumption and a one billion kWh increase in local generation.
An Electricity Authority of Cambodia report showed that last year, it supplied power to about 14,000 villages or 81 per cent of all villages in Cambodia. About 3.3 million households – or 68.5 per cent of all homes – were provided with some form of electricity.
The government’s goal is for all villages in Cambodia to have access to electricity by 2020, and for at least 90 per cent of households nationwide to be connected to the grid by 2030.
