This hybrid hydro solar power venture could shape the future of Thailand

May 18, 2021

This article is published in collaboration with Reuters

Thailand is creating one of the world's biggest floating hydro solar hybrid projects on the surface of a dam, which is close to completion. Image: REUTERS/Prapan Chankaew

Reuters Staff

Our Impact

What's the World Economic Forum doing to accelerate action on Energy Transition?

The Big Picture

Explore and monitor how Energy Transition is affecting economies, industries and global issues

A hand holding a looking glass by a lake

Crowdsource Innovation

Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:

Energy Transition

Thailand is creating one of the world's biggest floating hydro solar hybrid projects on the surface of a dam, which is close to completion.
The state-run Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (EGAT) aims to replicate this at eight more dams over the next 16 years.
Head of the initiative Chanin Saleechan has said this could generate 2,725 megawatts of electricity, once all the projects are completed in every dam.
Thailand is aiming to draw 35% of its energy from non-fossil fuels by 2037.

About 144,417 solar panels are being installed on a reservoir in the northeast province of Ubon Ratchathani, where workers are completing the last of seven solar farms covering 300 acres (121 hectares) of water.

World's largest hybrid hydro solar power

The state-run Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (EGAT) is touting the pilot project as one of the world's largest hybrid hydro solar power ventures and aims to replicate it at eight more dams over the next 16 years.

Have you read?

"When all the projects are completed in every dam, we will have total capacity to generate 2,725 megawatts," project head Chanin Saleechan said.

Thailand has long relied on coal for power, but plans for new coal-fired projects have been met with opposition over health and environmental risks, and two proposed southern coal plants were shelved in 2018.

Depending on which can generate more electricity, a hybrid hydro solar system allows continuous power generation. Image: REUTERS/Prapan Chankaew

It is aiming to draw 35% of its energy from non-fossil fuels by 2037, according to its latest Power Development Plan.

Since November, EGAT has been putting together floating solar platforms at the Sirindhorn dam, one of the country's largest hydropower sites, which it says should be able to generate 45 megawatts of power.

An Energy Management System will be used to switch between solar and hydropower, depending on which can generate more electricity, a hybrid hydro solar system Chanin said allows continuous power generation.

In August 2020, EGAT governor Viboon Rerksirathai was quoted in the Bangkok Post as saying that the state utility had power reserves of 40% of total capacity but that it plans to reduce those reserves to 15% to curb high electricity costs.

Discover

What's the World Economic Forum doing about the transition to clean energy?

Moving to clean energy is key to combating climate change, yet in the past five years, the energy transition has stagnated.

Energy consumption and production contribute to two-thirds of global emissions, and 81% of the global energy system is still based on fossil fuels, the same percentage as 30 years ago. Plus, improvements in the energy intensity of the global economy (the amount of energy used per unit of economic activity) are slowing. In 2018 energy intensity improved by 1.2%, the slowest rate since 2010.

Effective policies, private-sector action and public-private cooperation are needed to create a more inclusive, sustainable, affordable and secure global energy system.

Benchmarking progress is essential to a successful transition. The World Economic Forum’s Energy Transition Index, which ranks 115 economies on how well they balance energy security and access with environmental sustainability and affordability, shows that the biggest challenge facing energy transition is the lack of readiness among the world’s largest emitters, including US, China, India and Russia. The 10 countries that score the highest in terms of readiness account for only 2.6% of global annual emissions.

To future-proof the global energy system, the Forum’s Centre for Energy & Materials is working on initiatives including Clean Power and Electrification, Energy and Industry Transition Intelligence, Industrial Ecosystems Transformation, and Transition Enablers to encourage and enable innovative energy investments, technologies and solutions.

Additionally, the Mission Possible Partnership (MPP) is working to assemble public and private partners to further the industry transition to set heavy industry and mobility sectors on the pathway towards net-zero emissions. MPP is an initiative created by the World Economic Forum and the Energy Transitions Commission.

Is your organisation interested in working with the World Economic Forum? Find out more here.

Witoon Permpongsacharoen, director of Bangkok-based non-governmental group, Energy and Ecology Network, said the floating hydro solar plan could create unnecessary and potentially costly excess capacity.

"The issue here is, there is a high level of electricity reserves, so the investment on this green energy is being done without considering demand," he said. "Of course we support the investment on renewable energy over fossil fuel. But our priority is also energy efficiency."

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.