Paris-based independent power producer Total Eren has made a move into the Cambodian renewable energy market with the acquisition of the 73.9MWp (megawatt peak) solar farm in Battambang, northwestern Cambodia.

Total Eren acquired Battambang Co Ltd from Risen Energy, a listed Chinese company which has developed, built, and financed the project, and finally commissioned it in March 2021. Risen Energy will be responsible for the maintenance of the solar farm over the next two years. The project produces about 115 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year, and is one of the largest solar farms in operation in Cambodia.

The electricity produced has been contracted through a 20-year power purchase agreement signed in August 2019 with the national utility Electricite du Cambodge.

Battambang was financed through a US$45 million loan, signed in September 2020, from DEG, the German development finance Institution affiliated with development bank Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW).

The project is part of Cambodia's Basic Energy Plan, issued in 2019, which aims to increase the share of renewables in the energy mix to 10% by 2030.

Larger portfolio

Fabienne Demol, executive vice president, global head of business development at Total Eren, says the company intends to develop a larger portfolio of renewable energy projects in the country as it pursues its expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.

“It is a significant milestone since this is the first solar project that Risen Energy completed in Cambodia, and the first renewable energy project for Total Eren in the country as well," says Champion Yuan, board director of Risen Energy and general manager of Risen Hong Kong. "Risen Energy has rich experience in developing, engineering, constructing and operating wind and solar power projects around the globe, and we are looking forward to continued cooperation with Total Eren to promote the development of renewable energy globally.”

In 2015 Total Eren opened its regional office in Singapore, from where it currently coordinates its activities across the region, and relies on teams based in Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines and Cambodia. Total Eren already owns a 256MWp solar farm commissioned in Australia (Kiamal), and a 60MWp (megawatt peak) solar farm in operation in Tarlac province in central Philippines.

Total Eren is also active in South Asia, especially in India, through a joint venture, Eden Renewable India, which owns 657MWp of solar capacity in operation or under construction in the country.

In the Central Asia region, Total Eren signed in late October a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan, the national wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, and state-owned KazMunaiGas.

Hybrid power plants

According to the MoU, the parties will closely work on the development, financing, construction and operation of hybrid power plants deploying one gigawatt of wind energy combined with an energy storage system in central Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan has put in place a long-term sustainable strategy with the aim of reaching carbon neutrality by 2060, with an intermediary step of increasing the portion of renewables to 15% by 2030.

The project will consist of about 200 wind turbines totalling 1GW of installed capacity, coupled with a very large battery storage system (500MW-1GWh) provided by Saft, a pioneer in li-ion energy storage solutions which is wholly owned by TotalEnergies.

The project will produce about 3,800GWh annually for 30 years, enough to supply more than a million people in Kazakhstan every year with low-carbon electricity, while reducing carbon-dioxide emissions by about 3.2 million tonnes per year.

Total Eren develops, finances, builds and operates renewable energy power plants (solar, wind and hydro), and has a target of global gross installed capacity of more than 5GW by 2022.

Since December 2017, energy major TotalEnergies has been participating as a shareholder of TotalEren. TotalEnergies is a global integrated energy producer and provider, leading international oil and gas company, and a major player in low-carbon energies.

In Kazakhstan, TotalEnergies is one of the main shareholders of the North Caspian Project consortium in charge of developing the giant Kashagan field (16.81% share), and operator of the Dunga onshore oilfield (60% share).