Sweet on solar energy
With great expectations for solar rooftops, over 1,000 applicants queued up for licences in Bangkok yesterday.
With great expectations that solar rooftops will become the next promising energy sector, more than 1,000 applicants queued for licences in Bangkok yesterday.
Applicants went to the headquarters of the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) on Phloenchit Road and of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) on Ngam Wong Wan Road.
The Energy Ministry is accepting private sector proposals for solar rooftop licences from yesterday until Oct 11 for nationwide projects with a combined capacity of 200 megawatts. Half the licences will be for the residential sector, with the rest for factories and commercial buildings.
The ministry recently increased its 2020 target for solar power to 3,000 MW from 2,000 MW due to its lower costs and clean energy.
Direk Lavansiri, chairman of the Energy Regulatory Commission, said the two electricity authorities will announce qualified applicants for the programme after mid-October.
The power tariff for the solar rooftop programme is set at 6.96 baht per kilowatt-hour for household projects with a capacity of 1-10 kW, 6.55 baht for small buildings with a capacity of 10-250 kW and 6.19 baht for medium-sized and large buildings or factories with a capacity of 250 to 1,000 kW. Licences will be valid for 25 years. Yesterday, 424 applicants submitted proposals at the MEA and 842 at the PEA.
Wandee Khunchornyakong, the chairwoman and chief executive of SPCG Plc, Thailand’s largest solar farm operator, said a 10-kW solar panel for households should expect to see a return on investment in 7-8 years based on four hours of average peak productivity per day.
On average, solar power generation costs 60,000 to 70,000 baht per kW, depending on the type of panels and rooftop. Households should expect to invest 200,000 to 700,000 baht, depending on generating capacity and type of panel.
Distance from the power grid and electricity pole will not hinder a house’s ability to generate solar power, as it will feed where the house receives electricity, Ms Wandee said.
She expressed confidence that both the MEA and the PEA will continue to buy more solar energy, as the Energy Ministry will likely open another round of its solar rooftop programme.