Senoko Power plans Bt10-billion ethanol plant
Senoko Power, a Temasek Holdings-owned power-generation firm, is interested in investing in a Bt10-billion ethanol plant in Udon Thani.
Bio Ethanol (Thailand) Co Ltd managing director Jindarat Tawiltermsap and Senoko vice president Ng Sik Suan met with Udon Thani governor Jareuk Parinyapol this week, informing him of their plan to set up a joint venture to create an ethanol plant in the province.The joint venture will produce ethanol from tapioca. Ethanol is the main material used in alternative-fuel production. Senoko is wholly owned by Singapore's state investment arm, Temasek, which also owns a major share of Thailand's largest telecom firm, Shin Corp Plc, via its two subsidiaries. Jindarat said Senoko had conducted a survey of Udon Thani and found it had a high potential for an ethanol plant, because of an abundance of tapioca. Udon Thani has 200,000 rai planted with tapioca, while neighbouring provinces cover a combined 400,000 rai. Sik Suan said rising oil prices had made alternative fuel an attractive business. The ethanol plant is expected to cost Bt10 billion to build. It will occupy 200 rai of land and have a production capacity of 200,000 litres a day, possibly increasing to 1 million to 3 million in the future. The joint venture will also construct a biomass-driven power plant, to supply electricity to the ethanol plant. However, the project has not yet asked for Board of Investment (BoI) privileges. The BoI says Thailand has 11 ethanol plants that have earned privileges. Their combined investment is Bt5.19 billion.
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