Thailand's attractive Solar "Adder" electricity tariff leads to Installation Rush;Suntech and Sharp in the Lead

Thailand has proposed to generate 20% of its electricity from Renewable Energy by 2022 and has implemented an “adder” electricity tariff for Green Energy plants.This “Adder” tariff is similar to the Feed in Tariff (FIT) schemes prevalent in other parts of the world which gives a higher electricity payment to Renewable Energy Power Generators.Under this policy Thailand is set to give the “adder” tariff for 500 MW of plants till 2020 after which the tariff might be reduced.In order to get their projects approved under the higher tariff scheme,big companies are rushing to install large ground mounted solar projects.The first one out of the block was a Mitsubishi led project which proposed to build a massive 73 MW plant using thin film modules from Sharp.This company is an equal JV between Mitsubishi,Hong Kong’s CLP and Thailand’s IPP Electricity Generating Public Company .Thailand is an attractive place to build solar with cheap land in the north eastern part of Thailand with  good insolation and clear weather.

ADB Loan for Solar Plant to Support Thailand’s Renewable Energy Target – ADB

The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has approved investment in a 73-megawatt solar power plant in central Thailand. The plant, likely to be one of the largest solar photovoltaic projects in the world, will be central to Thailand’s efforts to generate much more of its energy from domestic, renewable sources. $70 million equivalent in Thai baht to Natural Energy Development Company, a Thai company jointly owned by CLP Holdings Ltd., Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp., and the Electricity Generating Public Company Ltd., Thailand’s first independent power producer, to build the plant. The loan will come from ADB’s ordinary capital resources, and the plant will be located in Lopburi province in central Thailand.

Not to be left behind,Thailand’s oil refiner Bangchak has decided to implement 120 MW of solar projects in the next 5 years ostensibly to become a zero emission producer.The company which is partly state owned has already started work on a 38 MW project . The project will use modules from China’s largest solar company Suntech and will be completed in 2009.Suntech  has been pushing its sales efforts in Asia recently signing a sales agreement with a solar developer in India.

Thai refiner Bangchak to invest heavily in solar power – Reuters

Thailand‘s Bangchak Petroleum PCL (BCP.BK) said it planned to invest about 23 billion baht ($716 million) in the next five years, two-thirds of it for solar power plants as part of a drive to expand into green energy.Bangchak has teamed up with China’s Suntech Power (STP.N) to build its first solar power plant in the central province of Ayutthaya at a cost of about 5 billion baht ($156 million).

The 38 MW power plant, expected to start operations in October 2011, should generate revenue of about 700 million baht a year, Anusorn said, adding the planned 120 MW solar power projects should generate about 2 billion baht a year.