Piyasvasti backs solar-driven electricity
Former energy minister Piyasvasti Amranand has come out in support of using solar power as an alternative to natural gas in generating electricity.
He said the cost of solar-power production was trending down and was now close to the cost of electricity generation by the country’s large independent power plants, especially those using liquefied natural gas (LNG), imports of which are rising for use in generating electricity.
Piyasvasti, who is also chairman of the Environmental Energy Founda-tion, made the remark at a seminar hosted by the foundation yesterday on ways to reduce electricity prices and boost the power supply by using alternative energy.
The cost of purchasing electricity from LNG-driven plants is Bt5.71 per kilowatt, while electricity from a solar plant averages Bt5.12 per kilowatt, if the cost of the solar plant’s establishment is Bt55 million per megawatt.
If the establishment cost of a solar plant is Bt65 million per megawatt, the cost of purchasing electricity from this plant will be Bt5.59 per kilowatt. This means solar plants could become a viable alternative for supplying power to Thailand in the future, given sufficient supports, Piyasavasti said.
The cost of solar-power technology is trending downwards while becoming more efficient, enabling lower electricity-production costs, he said.
He added that the more the government promoted the use of solar power in the electricity-supply system, the more the country would be able to reduce its LNG imports. The prices of gas in natural and liquefied form are trending up, along with the price of crude oil.
The natural-gas price tripled from 2000 to last year. If during the next 20 to 30 years Thailand has to import 23.2 million tonnes of LNG per year, by 2030 electricity bills are expected to increase to Bt4.95 per unit from the present Bt3.99. But this estimate could be conservative given the many uncertainties in the future.
Currently the country imports 2.4 million tonnes of LNG per year. Therefore, consumers will be affected if Thailand has to import greater amounts of that fuel, Piyasvasti said.
He added that the National Energy Policy Council’s resolution limiting the purchasable amount of alternative energy, especially solar power, should be cancelled. The government should promote more rooftop solar power.
He said the government should set the price of solar power at not lower than the price at which the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand purchases power from conventional private plants during peak hours in order to draw in solar power to support the power reserve. He added that if given strong support, there could be a supply of about 1,000 megawatts of solar power to support the power-supply system during peak hours.
