Thailand could be leading the global solar revolution
While corporate chiefs at Thailand’s electricity-producing company wonder whether to burn lignite/coal or use nuclear power, much of the rest of the world is embracing the future.
Solar is gaining momentum while its costs are coming down, month by month. Just one example among hundreds: Australia’s city of Perth now has a quarter of its electricity generated by solar. Solar panels on roofs are the biggest power producer in that city. India has managed to bring its cost of solar-produced electricity lower than coal-fired electricity.
Those with their heads still in the sand, thinking solar only works on sunny days, should know that battery storage technology is also improving month by month. Batteries are getting stronger, lasting longer, and their costs are going down. The same goes for solar panels. I’ve got a passive solar (zero electricity) 50-litre water heater, which cost Bt1,800 and gives warm showers even on cloudy days. On sunny days, the water is too hot, so I have to mix it with cool water. The water stays warm 1.5 hours after the sun goes down.
The US-based carmaker Tesla doesn’t use internal combustion engines. Its cars can run on renewable energy, and it sold nearly 100,000 of them last year. Volvo is the first major car company to quit using internal combustion engines, and it also sold nearly 100,000 of its new non-polluting models last year.
Instead of sticking to its habit of following behind worldwide trends, Thailand could be among the leaders at the vanguard. Heck, its engineers could even be adding new innovations along with engineers from India, Australia, Denmark, the US, Germany, China and elsewhere.
Ken Albertsen
Chiang Rai
