Alro forced to respond to ruling on wind farms
THE AGRICULTURAL Land Reform Office (Alro) is seeking alternative solutions after the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the agency’s decision to rent farming-designated Sor Por Kor land plots in Chaiyaphum province to a private company to construct a wind farm was a misuse of the land.
The rental contract revocation affects Thep Sathit Wind Farm Co Ltd, which had invested in “Asean’s largest wind farm” project in Chaiyaphum’s Sap Yai and Thep Sathit districts and sought to expand to the province’s Nong Bua Rawe district.
The decision has created uncertainty for other proposed renewable power-generating projects in the province, with another 17 private companies halting their investments.
Chaiyaphum-based Arlo office head Jirathit Roj-oonwong told reporters yesterday that the court’s verdict was considered final and would be respected by all sides.
She said her office would wait for the result of a meeting yesterday involving related agencies at Atrlo’s head office in Bangkok before deciding on the next move.
The verdict issued on Tuesday stemmed from a lawsuit filed by local residents and the Association of Lawyers for Environmental Protection against a Chaiyaphum-based Arlo committee’s 2009 resolution and the subsequent contract signing in 2012. The agreement rented a 39-rai (6.2 hectare) Sor Por Kor land plot at Bt32,000 per rai per year for 27 years to Thep Sathit Wind Farm Co. The company was to operate a 90 megawatt electricity-generating wind farm.
Jirathit said that her office would consult with Arlo’s head office first because this matter was the result of a government policy to promote renewable energy.
She said at Chaiyaphum 17 private companies applied for Sor Por Kor land use for wind farms for a rental period of between 25 and 27 years and they had invested at least Bt15 billion in construction costs.
Alro secretary-general Sompong Inthong said officials would look into the details of every contract for Sor Por Kor land leased to wind farm companies in Chaiyaphum and Nakhon Ratchasima province to ensure land was not being misused.
Nakhon Ratchasima-based Arlo office head Chamnan Klinchan said he had reported to the agency’s headquarters that his office had earned over Bt10 million per year in rental fees from seven private companies that rented a total of 286 rai in Dan Khun Thot, Theparak and Sikhiu districts to install wind turbines for power generating since 2010.
Chamnan said the rental fees went to the Arlo Fund, with the money distributed to farmers as loans for farming, to buy land for landless farmers and for funding basic infrastructure buildings.