SN Power AS has announced it has taken over Statkraft's 20% shareholding in the Theun Hinboun Hydropower Company (THPC) in Laos, the first move in its plans to become a long-term investor in the country.
The 500MW Theun Hinboun project on the Nam Theun river has been operational for more than 15 years. The project was developed in two phases, with production from the first 210MW project starting in 1998. The project was then expanded with an additional 290MW hydropower plant that went into operation in 2012.
THPC was the first privately developed hydropower project in Laos and has served as a model for how Laos can utilize its hydropower potential in a sustainable way. Laos has the ambition to be the "battery of the East" and use the proceeds from hydropower sales to pull the country out of the least developed nation category by 2020. The project has won several international awards for its development, not least for its financing and is frequently used as a model for social and environmental work in sustainable hydropower development.
SN Power will now take over Statkraft's role in the project and will continue to hold a minority share. The other owners are EdL Generation Public Company in Laos (60%) and GMS Power Public Company Limited in Thailand (20%).
“SN Power will continue the work Statkraft has been doing in Laos for the past 20 years," said CEO Torger Lien. "We will use our extensive experience from other developing markets and continue investing in the country. We hope to find new projects that we can develop in the near term."
