Thai firm B Grimm Power Pcl has invested in a 30MW solar project in Cambodia, Ministry of Mines and Energy spokesman Victor Jona said on Wednesday.

Jona, who is the director-general of the ministry’s General Department of Energy, told The Post that he welcomed the investment in solar energy, saying the project will not impact the environment and will protect natural resources.

“I believe solar energy will help to fill the [power] shortage during the coming dry season.”

He said the ground-mounted solar power system will cover about 40ha of land in Banteay Meanchey province’s Sisophon town.

“The solar project was approved during the Council of Ministers meeting in June this year,” he said, adding that it is scheduled for completion by next October and the company will discuss the share transfer in detail with Electricite du Cambodge (EdC).

B Grimm Power’s subsidiary B Grimm Solar Power entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire all shares in Ray Power Supply Co Ltd, with a total share value of $300,000, PV Tech reported on Tuesday.

The deal authorises B Grimm Power to develop the photovoltaic project in line with a 20-year power purchase agreement with EdC, it reported.

The Kingdom has approved a number of solar energy projects with a total capacity of 410MW, Jona said.

Of the amount, 90MW is currently connected to the national grid – 10MW from a project in Svay Rieng province and 80MW from a project in Kampong Speu province. Other projects will be completed next year and in 2021, he said.

Last year, Cambodia consumed 2,650MW of electricity, a 15 per cent increase compared to 2017. Of the amount, 442MW was imported from Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. The rest was produced in Cambodia from coal-fired plants, hydropower dams and solar farms.