Thailand to expand household solar programme
Bangkok (ANTARA) - Thailand will expand its household solar programme to 10 gigawatts (GW) and purchase excess electricity from participants at a price of 2.20 baht (1 baht = Rp532) or approximately 0.07 US dollars (1 US dollar = Rp17,753) per kilowatt-hour under 20-year contracts, a government official announced on Friday (18/9).
Thailand’s National Energy Policy Council has increased the maximum capacity for the “solar for the people” scheme to 10 GW, which is sufficient for approximately one million households, up from an initial proposal of 5 GW, said Lalida Periswiwatana, a deputy spokesperson for the Thai government.
The purchases will be conducted using a net billing system, Lalida noted. Households will first use the electricity they generate themselves and only sell their surplus, which is capped at 5 kilowatts per meter, she added. The contract duration has been extended from 10 years to 20 years to align with the lifespan of solar panels, with the capacity increase covering the period from 2026 to 2028.
Households are now also permitted to install panels on land and on water, rather than being limited solely to rooftops, she stated.
Thailand’s National Energy Policy Council has granted one month to the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Interior, and three state-owned electricity utilities to develop a grid readiness plan. This plan must include electricity generation estimates, real-time monitoring, transmission and distribution control, and battery storage.
Increasing the capacity to 10 GW will grant the public a larger role in producing clean energy, but the move must proceed alongside grid readiness to ensure that the additional capacity does not compromise the security of the electrical system, Lalida said.
The deputy spokesperson added that relevant agencies have also been asked to find ways to amend existing 10-year contracts so that previous participants do not need to cancel their contracts and reapply. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry has been tasked with developing a recycling plan for solar panels and batteries.