About Sonam Wangdi
Sonam Wangdi is a civil engineer and senior energy executive with more than 27 years of experience in hydropower and renewable infrastructure development. He has spent his career at the core of Bhutan’s power generation sector, working across the full project lifecycle, from early planning and Detailed Project Reports to procurement, contract strategy, and large-scale implementation. He was recently appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Wangchhu Hydroelectric Power Limited to provide executive leadership and technical governance for the implementation of the 570 MW Wangchhu Hydroelectric Project. In this role, he leads strategic execution in alignment with government and strategic partners objectives, with a focus on delivering the project and with a focus on meeting national energy security goals, and maintaining rigorous technical standards.
Before this appointment, he headed the Projects and Contract Department at Druk Green Power Corporation Limited. There, he oversaw the national hydropower and solar project portfolio, led the preparation of key project documentation, and helped shape the long-term roadmap toward 15 GW of hydropower and 5 GW of solar capacity addition by 2040. He also served as the Chief Engineer at Kholongchhu Hydro Energy Limited, where he led contract frameworks and major procurement for the 600 MW Kholongchhu project.
Background
Earlier in his career, he held senior engineering and management roles on landmark national projects, including the 1020 MW Tala, the 126 MW Dagachhu and 24 MW Basochhu Upper Stage hydropower plants, working on complex technical, contractual, and multi-stakeholder challenges. Across his career, his work has contributed to more than 2,300 MW of renewable energy capacity addition.
Education
He holds a Master of Science in Hydropower Development from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering, India.
