Shanxi firm builds solar parking lot in Thailand

Shanxi Electric Power Engineering Co Ltd has helped Thailand build a solar-powered parking lot.

Operated by B. Grimm Power Public Co Ltd, the parking lot in Thailand supports direct electrical vehicle charging, to further make use of the country's clean energy.

Operations began on July 31, with a total installed capacity of 409.5 kilowatts, Grimm Power said.

Shanxi Electric Power Engineering is a subsidiary of State-owned China Energy Engineering Group Co Ltd, or Energy China.

Set up on two sites that include office buildings, warehouses and other areas, the parking lot will make full use of solar energy to provide green electricity to office zones.

Thailand enjoys abundant solar resources all year round. On the back of the local government's support, investment in Thailand's renewable energy sector has been rising gradually in recent years, making the country a key region of solar investment in Southeast Asian countries, according to Shanxi Electric Power Engineering.

Thailand has also been focusing on rooftop photovoltaic power station construction in recent years. It is a field where parent company Energy China has several years of experience, it said.

The solar parking lot is covered with a steel-structure roof and equipped with 570 pieces of 390-watt solar photovoltaic or PV components on the top. The system can be used for 1,359 hours per year, to generate 300,000 kWh of electricity annually.

Beijing-based Energy China said the project can not only meet part of the electricity demand during peak times but provide power for the charging piles of new energy vehicles.

Despite COVID-19, the project was completed on time, thanks to effective teamwork of local staff members.

Supported by more than 200 overseas branches in 80 countries and regions, Shanxi Electric to date has built a market presence in more than 140 countries and regions. It is also one of the world's largest comprehensive solutions providers in the power sector.

According to Li Yuanfei, deputy general manager of Shanxi Electric, the company is planning a variety of new energy projects, including offshore wind power and floating PV units in economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

After COVID-19 broke out in Thailand, Shanxi Electric sent medical supplies to local project departments to aid the epidemic fight and support operations in Thailand and the Philippines.

Company data showed that international contracts worth almost 3 billion yuan ($439.8 million) were clinched between 2018 and 2019.

Directed by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, or SASAC, Energy China is an energy engineering conglomerate with a presence spanning fossil fuel power projects, hydropower projects, nuclear power projects, new energy projects and power transmission projects.

Actively responding to the Belt and Road Initiative in recent years, Energy China has been making breakthroughs in the field of new energy in participating economies such as Thailand, Vietnam, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Panama.