December 1, 2021
Finnfund invests in a solar panel factory in Thailand
Finnish corporation Solar Finland Ltd, a Finnish solar energy corporation, has signed an agreement to establish a joint venture in Thailand. The investment company Solar Finland Investment Ltd has agreed upon establishing a joint venture with an aim to establish a production facility for photovoltaic modules in Thailand.
The joint venture, Salo Tech Thailand Ltd, will be jointly owned by Solar Finland Investment Ltd together with Finnfund, a Finnish development financier and impact investor, and PEA Encom International, a Thai-State Enterprise owned by Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA).
“The production capacity of Salo Tech Thailand Ltd. is set to 100 MW per year at the first phase. The investment for the site is 7,5 million euros. These funds come from equity investments of the founders; 38% from Solar Finland, 37% from Finnfund and 25% from PEA Encom International”, says Esa Areva, the CEO of Solar Finland Oy (Ltd).
”We are happy to be a part of this joint venture where Finnish know-how helps improve access to renewable energy in Thailand”, says Finnfund’s Associate Director, Head of Energy and Infrastructure portfolio Jussi Tourunen. ”Providing access to cleaner energy is crucial for curbing climate change, and we are committed to making €1 billion worth of new investments in climate finance by 2030.”
The main market area for the PV module factory is Thailand and its surrounding areas, in other words the ASEAN countries (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Salo Tech Thailand Ltd. will produce high quality SALO® Solar Panels products following a Finnish operating model. In the second phase of the project, production capacity is increased according to the demand of the PV modules. The production will be based on best international practices, such as the ISO standards for quality, environmental, occupational health and safety as well as the supply chain traceability protocol. The production is aimed to begin during the Q2 in 2022.
“The realization of a factory project abroad is the result of hard persistent work. Global energy demand will keep increasing but at the same time we also have internationally common challenges with climate change. With the investment, we aim to promote both the market’s energy availability and measures to reduce carbon-neutral emissions in the long term”, says Esa Areva.
More information:
CEO, Solar Finland Ltd, Esa Areva +358 40 5312461
info@solarfinland.fi
www.solarfinland.fi
Media contact:
Valpuri Mäkinen, Communications and Marketing Manager, Finnfund, valpuri.makinen@finnfund.fi, tel +358 50 3842105