China has a hand in building some of Thailand’s most ambitious upcoming solar projects. Near the confluence of the Mun and Mekong rivers in Thailand’s east, work on Thailand’s largest floating solar plant continues apace: the hybrid hydro–floating solar at Sirindhorn Dam is expected to be completed in June.
Near the confluence of the Mun and Mekong rivers in Thailand’s east, work on Thailand’s largest floating solar plant continues apace: the hybrid hydro–floating solar at Sirindhorn Dam is expected to be completed in June. Replacement of fossil fuels is an important benchmark for the 2018 power development plan.
Many of China’s solar panel production companies have set up in Thailand in part to circumvent anti-dumping duties in Western countries; by 2014, US tariffs on Chinese solar products were as high as 165 per cent. Companies like Lingyi opened shop in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor.
Up in northern Thailand’s Khon Kaen, work is just beginning on a two-kilometre solar power station from China Gezhouba Group International Engineering, a subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Corp. The photothermal and photovoltaic hybrid station is slated to cost US$500 million and provide 90 MW.
The Talesun solar panel factory in Rayong, majority owned by the state-run Chinese Zhongli Sci-Tech Group, aimed to reach 2 gigawatts of production capacity last year. Most of these panels are exported to the US, where demand continues to grow. In terms of generation, Thailand currently only has around 3.3 MW of solar power installed.
Thailand is in the midst of a policy shift toward solar projects. China’s foothold in producing solar panels in Thailand, as well as investing in and building solar power stations there, will be essential if the country is to continue to move away from fossil fuels with sufficient speed.