Superblock Plc (SUPER), a SET-listed electricity distributor, plans to invest in two new waste-to-energy plants this year, said chairman Jormsup Lochaya.
The first plant would produce power from industrial waste with a power-generating capacity of 10 megawatts, while the second plant would produce power from community waste, he said.
He said the two plants will be located in Sa Kaeo and Prachinburi provinces, adjacent to the company's existing solar farm.
Mr Jormsup said the expansion will require investment of 1.3-1.5 billion baht per plant. The company expects to use both cash and financing in order to raise the investment funds.
Superblock is negotiating with major Japanese companies such as Hitachi and Mitsubishi on purchasing incineration and electricity-generating technologies to be used in the two plants.
He said the company plans to start investment on the first plant in the second quarter of this year, with construction projected to take around 12-14 months.
However, Mr Jormsup said construction of the second plant would take longer as it uses community waste, which requires elaborate construction details and technology because it takes a longer time to be burnt out.
He said the capacity of the second plant would depend on how much power the government plans to purchase via its quota system for the company.
"We think power generation from waste is a path Thailand will have to pursue since dumping such a huge amount of waste into the ground will affect the quality of the country's groundwater," said Mr Jormsup.
"We also expect the government to come up with a quota for purchasing electricity from waste-to-energy plants of at least 200MW total in the next two to three years."
The company is expected to start investing in the second plant by the third or fourth quarter this year, he said.
Each megawatt of power produced from waste could generate about 55 million baht per year for the economy, said Mr Jormsup.
The company sells around 230MW to the Provincial Electricity Authority now, which could increase to 500MW this month, he said.
Superblock maintained its target to raise its total power-generating capacity to 1,000MW by the end of this year, said Mr Jormsup.
It is also sticking with a plan to acquire stakes in other energy companies, invest in a new solar farm and expand its waste-to-energy projects," he said.
SUPER shares closed yesterday on the SET at 1.24 baht, unchanged, in trade worth 67.5 million baht.