On March 13, 2019, there was a significant movement occurred in the solar industry. The Ministry of Energy held the meeting and clarified to the solar panel operators about the preparation based on the new 20-year Power Development Plan or PDP 2018. It requires the purchase of more than 12,725 megawatts of solar power, divided into 2 parts which are the floating solar farms of EGAT of 2,725 megawatts and the solar rooftop project that can be obtained from residential roofs or the solar rooftop of the people sector of10,000 megawatts. Regarding the solar rooftop of the people sector, it will be purchased from houses that own the electricity meter Type 1, which is the residence installed less than 10 kilowatts per meter. The remaining electricity from household consumption will be purchased at the rate of not over 1.68 Baht per unit for 10 years.
This is good news for household electricity users who will have a chance to access alternative energy like solar energy in order to help reduce global warming and save electricity costs in the long run. However, to access the worthwhile use of electricity from solar energy, we must consider whether the cost of using solar panels is at the point of Grid Parity. Grid Parity refers to the point that the cost of purchasing electricity from our electricity supplier is equal to the cost of our electricity generation using renewable energy sources. In the case of Grid Parity in Thailand, it can be simply explained that the cost of electricity we purchase from EGAT is equal to the cost of electricity that we generate from solar panels. Currently, the electricity generation from solar panels is at a point that is more worthwhile than Grid Parity. However, regarding the consumption of electricity from solar energy meeting the conditions of Grid Parity for households, homeowners must consume electricity continuously throughout the period of solar panel's production, which is 4 hours a day during the daytime. This way, the investment in solar panel installation will be worthwhile.
In practical way, people usually lives in the house at night rather than in the daytime because the daytime activities of ordinary people are going to work or study. That’s why homeowners do not have the opportunity to consume electricity generated by solar panels. To use electricity generated by solar panels during the nighttime, it requires batteries to store electricity produced during the daytime for using it at nighttime instead. Currently, the battery price is still expensive so the electricity generated by solar panels in households is not widely used.
However, when the government announces to buy electricity generated by solar panels from the household sector, it motivates more people to install solar panels for household consumption as unused electricity can be sold back to the government and homeowners will receive income in return. In the meantime, when people tend to buy more solar panels according to government measures, it will help promote our solar market to grow in the long run as well. This is good for entrepreneurs who will develop and provide integrated solar panel services. It is also an alternative for consumers.
Therefore, the measure to subsidize electricity purchases from household solar panels or the policy on solar rooftop for the people sector under the PDP 2018 plan is a good opportunity for consumers interested in installing solar panels for using in their homes. This will cause many benefits, including the reduction of global warming, the availability of alternative energy sources other than the purchase of normal electricity, and the worthwhileness of long-term investment from the sale of electricity to the government and the cheaper cost of electricity per unit. At the same time, it is a business opportunity for entrepreneurs preparing to expand the market into the household sector that will continue to grow in the future.
