Thailand’s solar scheme faces hurdles as low power users turned off by high cost

Toey Wattana Mongkhonnam began thinking about outfitting his family home in Thailand’s northeastern province of Yasothon with solar panels during the Covid-19 pandemic.In his household of five, electricity use rises with the day’s heat, and the monthly bill could range from 1,000 to 1,500 baht (US$30 to US$45).“Back then, I checked prices and a rooftop panel system that could put out enough power to run my household’s appliances could cost 100,000 to 200,000 baht,” said Toey, a Muay Thai trainer in Kuala Lumpur.Toey’s calculations capture the challenge facing Thailand’s recently proposed 50-billion-baht (US$1.5 billion) rooftop-solar support scheme: whether it can make the switch attractive not just to high-use households but also to those with lower bills who may have less money to put towards the initial cost.The government said on September 2 it aimed to help up to 1 million households install 5 gigawatts of solar capacity on their rooftops, presenting the proposal as both protection against volatile power costs and a way to reduce the country’s dependence on imported liquefied natural gas.Pedestrians walk past an electric fan during hot weather in Bangkok in May 2024. Photo: EPA-EFEA week later, the government discussed the possibility of expanding the target to as many as 1.5 million households. A government representative said on Friday the capacity target had been doubled to 10 gigawatts.But whether the scheme achieves that broader reach could depend on more than subsidies. Rules on financing, eligibility and grid connections could determine whether household solar becomes accessible to families such as Toey’s or only to those who use more power with the funds and roofs to install it.