Energy and agricultural policymakers are scheduled to meet next week to find a solution on disputes for 15 wind farms located on Sor Por Kor land in Nakon Ratchasima and Chaiyaphum.
Praphon: Looking for ways to support energy investors
The Supreme Administrative Court ruled last week that it is inappropriate to rent out Sor Por Kor land in Chaiyaphum, which had been designated for farming purposes, to build wind farms. It further ordered the revocation of a licence to develop a wind farm there.
That has raised concerns among other wind farms developers on whether their licences could be revoked, prompting them to suspend investment on renewable energy projects.
The Agricultural Land Reform Office (Alro) had earlier leased the Sor Por Kor land for building wind energy projects. Alro now fears that the ruling will set a precedent for future projects.
The Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE) said policymakers planned to meet on Feb 14 at the headquarter of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives in order to seek out a solution.
The DEDE's director-general, Praphon Wongtharua, said the talks would also cover ways to lend support to those who are investing in renewable energy projects.
"As it is, we don't yet know how to help investors who have started projects whose licences have been revoked or otherwise need to move to new locations," said Mr Praphon.
There are 11 wind farms that are waiting for approval of power purchase agreements by the Energy Regulatory Commission. The approval process, however, has been suspended until the dispute over the Sor Por Kor land is settled.
Those 11 wind farms have a combined power generating capacity of almost 700 megawatts, while the other 4 farms with a combined capacity of 354MW are already operating and selling electricity to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.
Energy experts estimate that total capital expenditure on the 15 wind farms, excluding land prices, could be over 80 billion baht.
Mr Praphon said the controversy over land use is unlikely to have an adverse impact on Thailand's alternative energy development plan 2015-2036, which has the ambitious goal of seeing 30% of the country's energy supply coming from renewable energy, up from 14% as of the end of 2016.
He said the DEDE is conducting a feasibility study on the pros and cons of solar rooftops before initiating a project and granting licences to new investors. Chulalongkorn University will start conducting the study in March.