Competition in Thailand's solar rooftop market is expected to intensify, driven by lower prices, greater supply from producers and the government's promotion of renewable energy.
New products and services are being introduced, including a solar system for townhouses launched by EnergyLIB, a solar energy solution service provider. JJ-LAPP, the cable and connectivity solutions joint venture of diversified industrial conglomerate Jebsen and Jessen Group and LAPP Holding Asia, is partnering with Chinese solar panel manufacturer Deye to launch new products in Thailand.
Lower prices and the government's policy to ease the regulations concerning solar panel installation are among the factors that will increase demand for solar rooftop panels in Thailand, said Chatchai Wajakiet, general manager of JJ-Lapp, a joint venture between Jebsen and Jessen Group and Lapp Holding Asia.
Entrepreneurs, including office owners and factory operators, are the main buyers of solar energy, but over the next few years, more clients will come from the household sector, he said.
Lower-priced solar panels and batteries are making this type of clean energy more popular, said Mr Chatchai.
Photovoltaic panels capable of generating 1 megawatt of electricity cost 150 million baht in 2010, but the price has now decreased to just 15 million baht per MW, said Prapunt Harnchai, a consultant for Deye Thailand.
A 5-kilowatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) previously cost 250,000 baht, but the price has now fallen to just 200,000 baht.
A BESS represents essential equipment for solar panels as it stores electricity and serves as back-up power as the sun is an intermittent source of power, with electricity generation depending on weather conditions and the season.
Asian nations are expected to see a greater quantity of solar panel exports from China following US President Donald Trump's announcement that he plans to impose stiff tariffs on solar panel imports from Southeast Asia, analysts in the state and private sectors said earlier.
Chinese companies with factories in Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam have been accused of shipping panels priced below the cost of production to the US as the result of unfair government subsidies.
The US International Trade Commission is due to reach a final decision on the US's new tariffs in June.