Solar power in CR?

[ChaangNoi]

Hi, are their any thoughts on this? Anyone doing it up here? Where to buy?

I know it wont be great in the rainy season but might be something nice to have just in case of whatever.

[villagefarang]

I am surely not the only one who thought about it during the development phase of our house but any eventual savings just didn’t seem to warrant the time, effort and money needed to set things up. In the end we found it much cheaper to hook into the village supply and run three phase wires out to our house. Except for the occasional outage when they are working on something or during an electrical storm we have had no issues and the cost is reasonable.

[ChaangNoi]

i always here how panels are getting cheaper and cheaper. i guess still not cheap enough:)

thx

[AjarnP]

From what I hear, payback looks something like 15 years without an income from selling into the grid and about 12 years with such income.

I don't see it as a viable proposition just yet.

We do have a solar water heater though, which I would not be without.

[RichCor]

There's an interesting current ThaiVisa thread here:

Solar Power

Started by ExpatOilWorker, 2015-03-02 16:48 -- 105 replies

But, don't forget, solar energy isn't only about PhotoVoltaic panels. You can save a lot of money with solar water heating (if that's one of your goals)

[Rotweiler]

We researched the benefits of installing a solar array about 5 years ago. Considering the:

- high cost of efficient panels;

- the fact that the PEA refused a supply/service agreement (to buy our surplus);

it made no sense at all.

We have had a (black plastic pipe) solar water heater since day one - works like a charm almost all year round.

[Garry]

I see Home Pro are now selling solar panels and the control units. Here's some not so good snapshots of the brochure. Apologies, as my scanner is out of action and I was trying to keep the light reflection from being picked up by the lense on my tablet. From what my wife explained to me, the systems on sale range from 2.75kw (22 sqm/฿285,000) to 10kw (80sqm/฿820,000) systems. There is info on output and what can be returned to the grid in savings.

[ChaangNoi]

Interesting. I'm going to check and see how much electric I use each month.

Thanks for uploading.

[Garry]

Another rising market with Tesla Motors

http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/30/tesla-powerwall-home-battery/#.orqfim:vRdW

[Rotweiler]

Before you jump based on "what can be returned to the grid in savings", check with your local PEA office about how much energy they are willing to purchase from you.

In my case -.after many "polite smiles", the answer was zero.

[ChaangNoi]

I'm mostly looking forward to not having to pay any electric for the next 20 years plus having power if something goes wrong the grid for whatever reason. We do not really used that much electric so I'm not sure if this is going to be a good fit for us but I will take a look and see if it will work for us.

[Garry]

IBM have released details on new solar tech that they're testing. Seems pretty impressive. Let's see what the cost will be for a small dish with several of these modules being used.

http://anonhq.com/2-sahara-sun-power-world/

[Garry]

I'm mostly looking forward to not having to pay any electric for the next 20 years plus having power if something goes wrong the grid for whatever reason. We do not really used that much electric so I'm not sure if this is going to be a good fit for us but I will take a look and see if it will work for us.

News just in (12 May 2015, 07:30). Hold off buying any Solar Power items as the market price may drop considerably once the factory is up to speed adn hopefulyl selling locally.

Link

Clif notes:

Gintech to open 350MW Thailand cell factory

• 
  Gintech expects construction to complete by the end of the year and commercial operations to start in Q1 2016.

Taiwanese crystalline silicon cell manufacturer Gintech Energy is to build a 350MW cell production facility in Thailand.

The PV cell supplier has established a Thailand-based subsidiary under the name Gintech (Thailand) and is to invest around US$45 million in the facility’s first phase to cover the costs of land acquisition, construct and equipment.

Taiwanese cell manufacturers have been under pressure to relocate production capacity overseas to avoid the latest anti-dumping measures imposed by the US on Chinese solar imports, which include equipment manufactured using cells made in Taiwan. The impact of the US duties has been a key factor in falling sales reported by Taiwanese cell manufacturers in recent months.

Gintech expects the factory to be operation before the end of the year and start commercial production in Q1 2016.