Renewable energy tariffs under review
Tariff incentives for producers of renewable energy will be revised soon as new technology has reduce production costs, according to the Energy Ministry. Norkhun Sitthipong, the ministry's deputy permanent secretary, said the revised rates should reflect the actual costs and also ensure fairness to power producers.
The incentive, known as an "adder tariff", is a special rate that state utilities pay for power from producers using renewable sources. The rates vary depending on the fuel used.
"It was crucial for renewable energy that the government help provide support. Otherwise these types of energy would never be able to compete with mainstream fuels, as coal-fired and natural-gas plants have far lower costs of fuel and are more commercially viable," said Mr Norkhun.
However, the rate given to producers requires constant adjustment to ensure fairness among producers. Solar power, for example, has one of the highest production costs, but that cost has fallen to between US$1.50 and $2 per kilowatt/hour (unit) from $4 in 2005.
Mr Norkhun said the new adder rates should be finished by July.
The current rates are 0.30 baht per unit for biomass and 0.50 baht for biogas; 2.50 to 3.50 baht for waste-to-power; 3.50 to 4.50 baht for wind power; eight baht from solar; and 0.8 to 1.50 baht from mini hydroelectric project.
The adder scheme will be provided to renewable energy operators only for the first seven years of their operations, except for wind and solar plants that will be supported for 10 years. Once the adder period is ended, the operator will sell power at the same rate as utilities pay for coal-fired power at that time.
For plants that located in the southern border provinces, the adder rate will increase on top of the normal adder by one to 1.50 baht.
As of December last year, Thailand had 159 operating renewable power plants with 792 megawatts of installed capacity. About 182 projects are under construction with capacity of 840 MW.
The ministry expects that by the end of this year, the number of renewable projects will rise by another 549, with capacity of 3,600 MW.
Thailand's renewable power development plan ending in 2022 calls for 1,300 MW to come from solar and wind, 320 MW from mini-hydro, 4,000 MW from biomass, 280 MW from biogas and waste-to-power projects.
Note -- author mixed up solar price per watt with price per kWh, and further consufed things by referring to it as kW/h.