Private sector rushes for Solar Farm investment
Due to production cost decrease and expected to be the same level to other sources of electricity generation in 2015-2016
Private sector rush for solar farm investment after the cost of production tend to be lowered including government promotion policy resulting in 2011 with 44 solar energy projects with combined value of 42,000 million baht applying for investment promotion from BOI. It is expected that in 2015 - 2016, the cost of solar energy generation will be similar to other sources of electricity generation.
Dr. Rungroj Songprakob, School of Energy, Environment and Materials (SEEM), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) presented the overall aspect of electricity generation from photovoltaic cells in the seminar program “Solar energy” that Thailand has great potential to generate electricity via solar cells as its geographical location that is nearby the equator line plus with the reduction of solar panel cost made from China that sunk to 50 baht per watt from the very high cost of 1,000-2,000 baht per watt earlier. It is expected that the present significant decrease of solar cell production cost will bring about the cost of solar energy generation in the same level to other sources of electricity generation in 2015 – 2016.
The decrease of cost, the subsidy program in the form of Adder and investment promotion provided made private sector rushing for investment in many large scale projects of Solar Farm construction that never happen before. Now, there is a total production capacity of around 200 megawatt comparing to the past 5 years, there was only a pilot project from Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and the King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) serving on this service with CES Solar Cells Testing Center, the only one center of the solar power in this region.
Mr. Yuthasak Kanasawat, Director, Investment Strategy and Policy Bureau, Thailand Board of Investment introduced the investment promotion on solar energy development with the varieties of privilege offered ranging from exemption of import duties on machinery, exemption of juristic person’s income tax with unlimited amount of money. In case of submitting application for investment promotion to BOI within 2012 and the location of project is outside Bangkok, the investor will be offered special tax incentives under the Investment Policy for Sustainable Development campaign such as fifty percent reduction of corporate income tax on net profit for 5 years in the 9th-13th year of investment.
The investment promotion will cover both photovoltaic cell production, raw material production such as high purify polycrystalline silicon, wafer sheet, Transparent Conductive Oxide coating glass, machinery and equipment manufacturing and solar power generation. In 2012, there are 44 solar power generation projects with total value of 42,000 million baht applying for investment promotion from BOI.
