Expensive electricity bills are leading more businesses and households to adopt rooftop solar power technology, despite costly installation fees.
Businesses view this type of renewable energy as a way to save on costs and help them cut carbon dioxide emissions. Homeowners are eager to save on electricity bills over the long term.
Internet comments about solar panels are encouraging more people to try this alternative energy, leading to higher sales and potentially nudging the government to consider launching more solar energy promotion schemes.
YOR YAK EXPERIENCE
"Yor Yak" has become widely known as the name of a man who shared his solar panel experience on Facebook, encouraging people to consider installation.
Yor Yak has three air conditioners, each with 12,000 British thermal units, at his house in the northern province of Phitsanulok.
The appliances cooled his house during hot days, but his monthly electricity bill totalled almost 7,000 baht.
As a result, he decided to harness solar power, reducing his usage of electricity from the state grid.
Yor Yak spent 370,000 baht buying rooftop solar panels, with an electricity generation capacity of 7 kilowatts and a battery system able to store 30kW of electricity.
The battery is needed because the solar panels generate electricity during the daytime, but he also uses power at night.
When he received a power bill in April this year, he said it had dramatically fallen to 71 baht.
Yor Yak said the use of solar power also ensures a more stable supply of electricity because power from the state grid was frequently disrupted for hours, attributed to technical problems in his area.
He said he wanted to share his experience on social media to encourage people seeking ways to reduce their electricity expenses.
According to the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, prices for rooftop solar panel installation range from 105,000 to 760,000 baht, depending on their capacity to generate electricity. The greater the capacity, the more expensive the system installation.
Solar panels with greater capacity can help owners save more on their electricity bills.
More import of costly liquefied natural gas last year was blamed for pushing up electricity prices.
WORK FROM HOME
As more people work from home since the pandemic, they are scrutinising electricity prices as they spend most of their time at their abode, said Sena Development Plc, a developer of housing estates with rooftop solar power technology.
Covid-19, which first hit Thailand in early 2020, caused the government to enforce harsh lockdown measures, including a nighttime curfew, to contain the spread of the highly contagious virus.
Business activities and daily commutes to work were altered by the pandemic.
Companies initially agreed to have employees work from home to avoid a gathering of staff, then later realised other benefits from allowing staff to work from home.
Female workers who are mothers can take care of their babies and work at the same time, said Kessara Thanyalakpark, chief executive of Sena Development.
Working for many hours at home led people to think of ways to better manage their electricity usage as power bills started to skyrocket.
Both businesses and households are paying a power tariff of 4.7 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit) from May 1 and Aug 31, a slight decrease from the first four-month cycle.
During the first four months of this year, businesses paid 5.33 baht per unit, up 13% from the previous record high of 4.72 baht per unit, while households paid 4.72 baht per unit.
The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, which broke out in February last year, was blamed for driving up global energy prices as Thailand needed to increase imports of costly liquefied national gas following a dip of domestic supply from the Gulf of Thailand.
Gas contributes around 60% of power generation in the country.
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Many people opt for rooftop solar panels to generate electricity themselves, making them less dependent on the state grid.
Sena Development sees an opportunity to offer this type of alternative energy to its customers based on the work-from-home lifestyle and the popularity of global campaigns to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
At the company's new housing projects, each home is installed with solar panels, Mrs Kessara said.
Sena Development also plans to facilitate power trade between homeowners and the state grid to sell the surplus electricity to authorities under the ERC sandbox, overseen by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Khomgrich Tantravanich, secretary-general of the ERC, said homeowners should analyse their lifestyles before deciding whether to install rooftop solar panels.
Solar power is generated during the daytime, so this type of energy may not be suitable for people who spend all day at their workplaces and come home at night, he said.
RAKING IN REVENUE
A shift towards renewable energy is stimulating sales of solar power technology, which has become a promising source of revenue for companies.
SET-listed SPCG, a pioneer in solar farm development in Thailand, recorded purchase orders for its solar power systems totalling 1 billion baht in value during the first half of this year, up from 600 million for the whole of 2022.
The firm initially set a revenue target of 1 billion baht this year, then significantly increased it to 1.8 billion baht after reaching the target in the first half.
The company's main customers are entrepreneurs.
"Businesses are rushing to save on energy expenses as oil prices fluctuate, electricity bills rise and raw materials become more costly," said Wandee Khunchornyakong Juljarern, chief executive of SPCG.
Despite higher operating costs, she said manufacturers in some sectors cannot increase their product prices because of state price controls on necessary goods. This is prompting them to find ways to reduce energy costs, said Mrs Wandee.
According to SPCG, its rooftop solar panels can help office buildings in Bangkok save 15% on electricity bills.
In the household sector, a significant increase in power bills during the hot season may lead some homeowners to consider alternative energy, she said.
More demand for solar energy is also expected to boost revenue for SET-listed Scan Inter (SCN), a compressed natural gas seller and clean power operator, which set a 30-40% revenue growth target this year.
Littee Kitpipit, chief executive of SCN, expects more sales of rooftop solar power in the manufacturing sector because factory owners are more concerned about electricity bills this year and are determined to save on energy expenses.
An increase in rooftop solar panel installations is expected to boost SCN's revenue.
Rooftop solar power businesses comprising turnkey contracts and private power purchase agreements are operated by SCN and its subsidiary Scan Advance Power Co (SAP), respectively.
SAP is preparing to list on the Market for Alternative Investment to raise more than 300 million baht for expansion, Mr Littee said earlier.
The company has private power purchase agreements with 34 firms to install rooftop solar panels with a combined electricity generation capacity of 25 megawatts.
The fundraising plan aims to enable SAP to sign more agreements and acquire solar power assets to boost total capacity to 55MW, he said.
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
The shift towards rooftop solar power could gain momentum if a new government launches a programme to encourage people to adopt this technology as part of a state campaign against global warming.
Mr Khomgrich suggested authorities design a scheme allowing participants to sell the surplus of electricity generated by solar panels to the state grid, instead of giving households free rooftop solar panels or having solar panel owners supply the whole volume of electricity to the government.
Last year, the ERC launched a 10MW solar power programme encouraging homeowners to install rooftop solar panels with generation capacity of up to 10kW.
Participants can sell every unit of electricity generated to the state grid for 10 years.
The programme proved popular, but the government has no plan to launch a second phase, he said.
The next government will have to choose in what way it wants to encourage people to adopt solar power technology and how to allocate money to support new solar power schemes, said Mr Khomgrich.
Total solar power capacity in Thailand exceeds 5,000MW currently, covering electricity that is supplied to the state grid and that generated under the independent power supply category, according to the ERC.
Also known as IPS, independent power supply refers to solar panels installed by homeowners and factory operators for their own usage, without sales to the government.
The government complex on Chaeng Watthana Road was empty following the order to work from home during the pandemic. Pattarapong Chatpattarasill