Energy Minister promotes community-based power

[webfact]

Energy Minister promotes community-based power

By The Nation

 

Photo stock

 

Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong, who is currently on a tour of the Northeast, visited a rice product promotion centre in Ban Non Rang in Khon Kaen on Thursday (December 19) to see firsthand the success of the centre and promote the community-based power plant policy to more than 1,000 farmers.

 

The Energy Ministry is actively supporting community-based biomass power plants in region, which has plenty of agricultural land but little in the way of water resources. Energy crops such as Napier grass, are low-cost, low-maintenance, and need very little water. The Ministry will fund power plants in areas that have the resources, with the farmers selling the crops to the plant and receiving electricity at low price in return. The Minister believes this policy will help increase income and stimulate the economy at the local level.

 

This project aims to enter into purchase contracts with local farmers for 20 years for bamboo, Earpod wattle, or Napier grass.

 

Community-based power plants will use a Feed-in Tariff (FiT) mechanism in renewable power investment for Very Small Power Producers (VSPP) with 10 MW for non-firm power plant. Next year, the government will start buying 700 MW from private producers and has scheduled the commercial operation dates for two types of projects: Quick win project in 2020, followed by the general project the year after.

 

Under the programme, the party who proposes the project, either private or public, can hold 60 to 90 per cent of ownership while the community, which must have more than 200 households, holds the other 10-40 per cent (10 per cent preferred stock and additional stock up to 40 per cent) The biomass energy must yield a profit of not less than Bt0.25 per unit and that of solar cells Bt0.50 per unit.

 

The community-based power plant should generate income for the locals and reduce the flow of migration to other areas in search of work.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30379661

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-12-20

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[Redline]

More pollution?

[bluejets]

Only thinking and talking to my wife about this the other day.

Not biomass but rather the little mentioned solar power production with minimal mention right at the end of the above.

Idea being to allow solar generation companies, gov or whatever to lease land currently used for loosely stated rice production.

Even perhaps self funded small solar installs say 5 to 10kw would have to be a plus when combined output of many is considered.

While on our visit there last month I saw wife's mum busily pumping water to what appeared to be a dry useless crop.

Anything like that currently in operation..?

On current other country feed-back rates I could imagine 2 baht a unit would be a realistic figure.

Current brick wall would be initial cost without any gov subsidy in place.

[farmerjo]

17 hours ago, Redline said:

More pollution?

I'm sure the power plants would have a scrubber to help with the polution.

The problem lies within only selective biomass to run it.

It could reduce burning fields by 80% if they used any type of agricultural waste. 

[Redline]

8 hours ago, farmerjo said:

I'm sure the power plants would have a scrubber to help with the polution.

The problem lies within only selective biomass to run it.

It could reduce burning fields by 80% if they used any type of agricultural waste. 

Yes that would be too good to be true I think.  I did read the smaller plants would have loose pollution controls.  And the hen there was s upkeep, which is rare in Thailand 

[Srikcir]

On 12/20/2019 at 11:44 AM, webfact said:

The community-based power plant should generate income for the locals and reduce the flow of migration to other areas in search of work.

"should" is about good as "maybe" or "might."

Community land owners MUST consider the potential risk of liabilities should such  NET income fail to be produced to the extent that all financial liabilities are covered by third party design, construction and operation of the power plant. Failure of the community to meet any of its financial liabilities resulting for the power plant might ultimately lead to the confiscation of their property.

Get an independent legal review of the community contract (if there isn't one, get one!!) before the community leaps into these deals.

The community should have at least 50% representation on the power plant Board of Directors to assure full disclosure of the project at all times and that it has a voice in the design, construction and operation of the power plant.

[Rhys]

Biggest offenders are in the cities...