Solar power in Thailand

Solar potential[1]

Thailand is a tropical nation and thus absorbs abundant solar power, largely untapped, from solar heat gain. Thailand as a whole has great solar potential, but especially the southern and northern parts of the northeastern region of Udon Thani Province and certain areas in the central region. The combined solar potential areas account for around 14.3% of the country’s overall area, gaining average daily solar exposure at around 19–20 MJ/m2–day, while the other 50% the country gains around 18–19 MJ/m2–day. In terms of solar potential, Thailand lags behind the US, but is ahead of Japan.[2]

Solar power in Thailand was targeted to reach 55 MW by 2011, 95 MW by 2016, and 500 MW by 2022, but applications for over 4,000 MW of proposed projects had been submitted by October 2010, although a year later only 16 MW had been completed.[3]

The 84 MW Lopburi Solar Farm was completed in May 2013.

German solar energy company Conergy signed a contract with Thailand’s Siam Solar Energy to construct three solar plants of 10.5 megawatts each in addition to existing two solar plants that are already being constructed since autumn 2012.[4]

In 2013 installed photovoltaic capacity nearly doubled and reached 704 megawatts by the end of the year.[5]

Statistics

Photovoltaics - Deployment
Year Σ Installed
(MWp)		 Δ Installed
(MWp)		 Generation
(GWh)		 Ref
2011 149 121 n.a.
2012 359 210 n.a. [6]
2013 824 437 n.a. [7]
2014 1,299 475 n.a. [8]

Source: NREL[9]


See also

References

  1. ↑ "Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI): Thailand". solargis. Retrieved 5 Mar 2015.
  2. ↑ "Areas with solar power potential". Thailand Ministry of Energy, Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency. Retrieved 5 Mar 2015.
  3. ↑ Wilcox, Jeremy (2012-04-10). "Thailand Joins the Solar Fast Lane". RenewableEnergyWorld.com. Retrieved 5 Mar 2015.
  4. ↑ "Thailand turns to solar power". Investvine.com. 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  5. ↑ "Snapshot of Global PV 1992-2013" (PDF). 2nd Edition ISBN 978-3-906042-19-0. International Energy Agency - Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme. 2014. p. 8. Archived from the original on 5 April 2014.
  6. ↑ Winneker, Craig. "Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics 2013-2017" (PDF). European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA). Retrieved 5 Mar 2015.
  7. ↑ "Snapshot of Global PV 1992-2014" (PDF). http://www.iea-pvps.org/index.php?id=32''. International Energy Agency — Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme. 30 March 2015. p. 15. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "PV Watts". US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Retrieved 9 Jul 2012.