Managing director Noppol Milinthanggoon yesterday said the Royal Forest Department had granted permission last month for the establishment of the wind farm in the province's Khao Kho district.

Construction will begin in June and is expected to be completed late next year, when Ratch will start selling the electricity generated on a commercial basis.

He said it would be the largest wind farm in Thailand.

Ratch, which has a combined electricity production capacity of 4,347MW, plans to expand its capacity to 7,800MW by 2016 to cater to an expected rise in demand in line with the improving global and domestic economic situation. Besides its ongoing Lao projects, the company has plans to invest in power plants in Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia.

Its Nam Nguem 2 hydropower plant in Laos is in the construction stage. The plant will have a capacity of 615MW and is scheduled to sell electricity in 2013.

The 1,878MW Hongsa plant in Laos will start selling electricity in 2015. Regarding the 440 MW Nam Nguem 3 power plant in Laos, the project is expected to sign a power-purchase deal with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand this quarter and start selling electricity in 2017.

Ratch posted a net profit of Bt6.74 billion last year, an annual rise of 3.8 per cent, while revenue came in at Bt37.65 billion.

In a related matter, Energy Minister Wannarat Charnnukul yesterday opened the country's largest wind turbine in Nakhon Si Thammarat's Hua Sai district.

The 1.5MW turbine can generate 1.8 million units of electricity annually, worth about Bt10 million. This will save energy imports of 0.155 kilotonne equivalent a year.

Wannarat said the project, which includes a nearby 250-kilowatt turbine, would pave the way for a commercial wind farm.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010/01/30/business/business_30121472.php