Banpu

Banpu Public Company Limited is an energy company based in Thailand. Its three core businesses are energy resources (coal and gas); energy generation (conventional and renewable); and energy technology (wind and solar, storage systems, and energy technologies).[2] Banpu is headed by CEO Somruedee Chaimongkol.[3] In the 2012 Forbes Global 2000, Banpu was ranked as the 1707th -largest public company in the world. [4]

History

Banpu was founded by members of the Vongkusolkit and Auapinyakul families on 16 May 1983 as Ban Pu Coal Company Limited. The company was created to subcontract a coal mining operation at Banpu Mine (BP-1 Mine) in Li District, Lamphun Province. On 4 May 1989, Banpu was listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). Its name was changed on 29 July 1993 to Banpu Public Company Limited.[2]

Operations

Power generation

Banpu Power Public Company Limited or Banpu Power (BPP) was established in 1996 (then named "Cogeneration PLC") as a subsidiary of Banpu PCL.[5] BPP's generating capacity as of early-2019 is 2,140 megawatts. Its goal is to expand that number to 4,300 MW by 2025. Renewable power projects account for 20 percent of BPP-generated electricity.[6]

Coal mining

It is the largest coal producer in Thailand and also has coal mining operations in Indonesia and China, and coal-fired power generation operations in Thailand and China. Banpu plans also to invest in the Hong Sa lignite mine and power plant project in Laos.[7]

Banpu's main coal resources are in Indonesia (26 million tonnes), Australia (14 million tonnes), and China (4.7 million tonnes). It expects its sales to rise to 45 million tonnes in 2018, up from 42 million tonnes in 2017.[8]

Due to its coal mining operations, Banpu was named on a 2019 list of the 100 companies "...responsible for most of the world's greenhouse gas emissions".[9]

Centennial Coal

Centennial Coal Company Ltd operates five mines in New South Wales (NSW) supplying coal for export and approximately 40 percent of NSW's coal-fired electricity.[10] The company sells approximately 40 percent of its coal to export markets, primarily for use in power stations and steel mills in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Europe.[10]

Centennial Coal has been responsible for more than 900 pollution notices between 2000 and 2013 from the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA). In 2015 it was responsible for a major release of coal fines into the Wollangambe River and World Heritage listed areas of the Blue Mountains National Park.[11] Centennial Coal has been dumping mine effluent into the Wollangambe River for approximately 30 years, effectively killing large sections of it.[12] Between 2000 and 2015, Centennial's Clarence Colliery has been cited for more than 65 non-compliance breaches of its licence.[13]

Banpu NEXT

Formed in 2019 as a joint venture between Banpu and Banpu Power (BPP), Banpu NEXT is the company's energy technology division.[16] The division is targeted towards providing energy solutions for storage systems, battery-powered electric vehicles, energy efficiency management, and smart city projects.[17][18]

type	Public
traded as	set: BANPU
foundation	May 16, 1983‡R1R‡
location city	Bangkok
location country	Thailand
key people	Somruedee Chaimongkol (CEO)
industry	Energy
products	Coal Electrical power
revenue	123,345 million baht (2018)
net income	6,694 million baht (2018)
assets	274,317 million baht (2018)
equity	83,060 million baht (2018)
num employees	6,037 (2018)
subsid	Banpu Power
homepage	www.banpu.com