Prime Road Alternative (Cambodia) Co Ltd will soon break ground on a 60MW solar power plant in southwestern Kampong Chhnang province valued at $37.4 million.
Provincial Department of Mines and Energy director Uk Ros told The Post on July 28 that the project would be built over a year and a half in Teuk Phos district, near the border with Samaki Meanchey district to the southeast, with financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Prime Road Alternative has purportedly completed an impact resolution process involving potentially-affected villagers, at the instruction of local authorities over concerns about damage to crops in the vicinity, he said.
The company will sell the power generated by the solar farm to state-owned utility company Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) to supply the national grid and distribute the electricity throughout the country, especially to areas with energy shortages, he added.
“Kampong Chhnang province has received a series of solar energy projects due to its favourable geographical location which receives ample sunlight, and we have two substations to transmit electricity to the national grid,” Ros said.
On January 5, the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) announced that it had approved a final registration certificate for the solar farm, to be developed by Prime Road Alternative.
In February, the ADB approved a $16.4 million loan for the project. The Metro Manila-based lender noted in a September 2019 press release that auction for the project, which was conducted by EdC, ended with Prime Road Alternative’s lowest bid of $0.3877 per kilowatt-hour.
And another 60MW solar power farm in Teuk Phos was commissioned and connected to the national grid in April, which brought the Kingdom’s total solar power capacity to 150MW, according to Ministry of Mines and Energy director-general for Energy Victor Jona.
The project, located in Romeas village, Taing Krasaing commune, is developed by SchneiTec Renewable Co Ltd, a joint venture between Chinese and local partners, he said.
According to the EdC, the national grid reached 320MW of capacity from solar generation facilities after a 60MW project was commissioned in northern Battambang province’s Thma Koul district in March.
The solar farm is located in southwestern Thma Koul’s Anlong Run commune and is invested by Shenzhen-listed Risen Energy Co Ltd, it said.
