Going with the Wind

Published on 17/11/2014

Going with the Wind 'I was thinking, maybe everyone is wrong," recalls Nopporn Suppipat, the founder and CEO of Wind Energy Holding. "Maybe there is a wind resource but you just don't know how to access it."

When that thought first crossed his mind, back in 2005, everyone who knew anything about energy, including the Energy Ministry itself, had already trashed the possibility of building wind energy projects in Thailand. Their belief was rooted in a local study of questionable value. The belief among the general public as well was that wind farms belonged in chilly, gusty places like Denmark, not tropical Southeast Asia.

Questioning the conventional wisdom, Mr Nopporn discovered a World Bank study which said — and here he proudly emphasises each word — "We do have wind resources!" With no hesitation, he poured everything he had into hiring the research company that had produced the World Bank report to conduct a detailed wind study of Thailand.

"And that's how I started," says the tall, good-looking entrepreneur, lowering his chair dramatically to make better eye-level contact with his visitor.

Nine years after he set out to catch the wind, Mr Nopporn is running the largest wind power business in Southeast Asia. The two wind farms operated by Wind Energy Holding (WEH) in northeastern Thailand generate a total of 207 megawatts of power, and the company has seven more sites planned with a combined capacity of 650 MW. WEH is already profitable, earning $25 million last year, and the company is considering listing on the stock market next year to fund regional expansion.

Investor interest is already high — a private placement of shares in March this year put the value of WEH at $1.2 billion.

The deal lifted Mr Nopporn into the ranks of the country's richest people, with a net worth estimated by Forbes magazine at $800 million. And he's only 43 years old.

The elder son of two dentists, Mr Nopporn says his parents did not expect him to be as successful as he is today, though they were optimistic that he would distinguish himself in some way. They must have had some anxious moments, though, having seen their entrepreneurial son make and lose smaller fortunes when he was younger.

"They probably have their own version of success and I have my own version of success. ... For them, probably something very different [referring to ideology], I don't even know what it is," he says, while letting out a hearty laugh.

Mr. Nopporn was raised in Thailand but went to high school in the United States. Eager to get on with life as a young, he took a Thai test that allowed him to skip grades 11 and 12 before entering Assumption University in Thailand.

After 18 months at home he moved back to the US and hopped around several universities before settling in sunny Florida. After completing the coursework for a bachelor of economics at the University of Miami, he returned to Thailand again.

His first taste of the business world came when he invested in the stock market as a freshman at Assumption University. With his mother's approval and seed money of 100,000 baht, he became a dollar millionaire at age 20. He bought a Ferrari, among other things. But within two years he lost his fortune, even though the stock market was booming at the time.

"I didn't lose all my toys," he says, followed by a laugh that echoes in the meeting room. "I still have my toys, you know, cars, watches, paintings."

But two decades ago when he found himself broke, he sold all the toys he had at the time to fund a new business startup. The whole experience was a turning point in his life, with invaluable lessons that he has applied ever since.

"After I lost all my own money, I told myself, from now on, I will control my own destiny," he recalls. The next investment was in his own business, something he created and would have a say in.

His independent journey started with the development of a conventional power plant, but then Thailand's economic bubble burst in 1997 and he had to unload the business. He changed direction again, this time starting a small magazine business, but it the lack of a market along with his inability to deal with "nittygritty things" led to losses and eventually he left that business behind.

In 2005, while casting around for his next business idea, he saw demand for conventional power plants reviving, but the prospect of slim marginal revenue no longer interested him.

What was starting to interest him was alternative energy. He did some research and found that wind power was "by far the mainstream of renewable energy . So if you want to do something, you might as well start with the mainstream.

You don't want to be the niche of the niche."

While most entrepreneurs are attracted to a business because they can see a profit in it in the near term, Mr Nopporn takes a longer-term view.

"We started [the business] because it would be big one day," he explains. "We were there before and we'll be here until the local market dries up ... until it's no longer lucrative, and then we'll move on elsewhere around the world to complete the picture, to diversify, to lower the risk; that's how we operate."

The company started with capital from Pradej Kitti-itsaranon, the head of the SET-listed engineering group Demco Plc — "a good guy" as Mr Nopporn puts it. "He gave me advice and financial support in the beginning, but as the company got bigger, he didn't have to give capital anymore. So at the end of the day I own 70% and he owns 30%, roughly."

Rejecting an "unqualified local study" that had focused mainly on coastal areas in southern Thailand and ruled them out as unsuitable for wind power development, Mr Nopporn turned his attention to Nakhon Ratchasima. He two sites in the northeastern province are now producing 207 megawatts of power.

"We will build two more projects this year with a combined capacity of roughly 130 to 135 megawatts, and we'll start building 500 megawatts next year," he says.

The increase in wind energy production is in line with goals set by the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, which aims for renewable energy to represent 25% of total consumption by 2021.

Approximately 8.8% or 1,200 MW will be wind energy.

Mr Nopporn aims for Wind Energy Holding to be a global-scale business in the near future, competing with at the world's top five wind-power operators by 2020.

"After we complete our first Gigawatt (1,000 MW) in 2018, there won't be much to do in Thailand anyway. So by then we will be building projects, probably 80-90% outside Thailand," he explains.

The company currently has seven projects in the pipeline with total generating capacity of around 650 MW. To get to 1,000 MW by 2018, it has a three-phase development plan, starting with two wind farms this year and next: Watabak in Chaiyaphum and Khao Kor in Phetchabun province. That will be followed by

five more sites in Nakhon Ratchasima, which will come online starting in mid2017. In the third phase, WEH is preparing applications to sell 200 MW of wind power to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), but details could not be disclosed.

The investment scale is not small — each project requires between 7 billion and 8 billion baht — with WEH remaining the key investor.

With his business advancing from Thailand and prospects for new ventures in Europe and Australia, the man who started it also plans to live abroad. "Nick", as he's known to his foreign friends, plans to buy his own condo soon and definitely more around the globe.

"I don't plan to stay in one place. ... I'll probably spend a couple of months a year in Thailand and that's it. I'm a citizen of the world," he tells Asia Focus.

"I'll be spending most of my time in the south of France and London," he says, while aiming to schedule visits to southern Thailand during the winter season.

Just as his residence may be hard to pin down, he's keeping his personal life flexible as well.

"Oh God, if I say this, all the girls will hate me," he responds, shaking his head slightly, when asked why he's still single. "Because when you have a lot of choices, why would you settle down?" He takes his time before explaining, lowering his voice.

"I don't think I'll settle down and get married. Maybe one day I'll have a kid or two," he says with an uncertain tone.

Wind power isn't the only thing providing energy for the entrepreneur these days. He also enjoys running a modeling agency in Moscow. "We aim to represent the world's top models," he says confidently.

"My hobby, my work, I treat them all the same. I like them all," he says, adding that he looks forward to going to work just as much as he does seeing motor shows or partying.

A numbers enthusiast, he insists he finds his job very relaxing because thinking, reading, and researching are his hobbies, so he pretty much gets to pursue his hobby for a living.

"You get to do what you like, the way you want, when you want. How about that? In fact, you get to make a billion dollars out of that," he says with a laugh and then pauses before continuing. "That's my job, and you make it happen.

"Some say be careful what you wish for. I know exactly what I'm wishing for and I'm getting it. But you have to know. You start from knowing [your limitations and strengths], or else you fail."