Thailand develops solar plan for community power supply

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Thailand’s Ministry of Energy says it is advancing a community solar plan to add up to 1.5 GW of capacity through small ground-mounted projects selling power to local consumers at THB 2.25 ($0.07)/kWh under long-term contracts.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/region/thailand/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Thailand</a> is developing a community-based solar project aimed at enabling local communities, rather than large-scale developers, to host solar farms.</span></p>
<p>Under the proposed framework already approved by Thailand’s National Energy Policy Council, the project will have provincial and metropolitan electricity authorities buy energy from private power producers and sell it to local communities at a rate below the prevailing retail tariff.</p>
<p>The program is set to cover ground-mounted solar farms less than 10 MW in size, subject to grid space in each area. A total of 1.5 GW of capacity is being made available nationwide, limited to one solar farm per connection point. Local press in Thailand reported that more than 300 communities across the country could be involved in the project.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The provincial or metropolitan electricity authority in the area will act as the offtaker, entering into a 25-year power purchase agreement at a proposed feed-in-tariff rate of THB 2.25/kWh.</span></p>
<p>The solar farms will be developed by private sector companies selected based on readiness and technical capability. Local communities affected will need to give their consent to participate in the program.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Poolpat Leesombatpaiboon, secretary-general of Thailand’s Energy Regulatory Commission, has said that the project is currently ongoing technical, pricing and community consultations. The application and selection process for participating solar farms is currently expected to take place in December.</span></p>
<p>The program is part of the Ministry of Energy’s Quick Big Win initiative, a fast-track energy scheme first announced in October.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Other strands of the initiative will target the deployment of 1,200 solar-powered water pump systems for farms, solar tax incentives for 90,000 households and the implementation of over 1.6 GW of floating solar projects at dams belonging to the <a href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/08/28/thailand-opens-364-mw-solar-tender/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Energy Generating Authority of Thailand</a>.</span></p>