Incentives needed for alternative energy

How much support does the current Thai government give to alternative energy?

Do they have any provision for buying back excess energy that may be produced by private citizens or small companies?

In the US, there are certain homes which have alternative energy devices installed, and when there is excess power generated, it is fed back into the public grid, compelling their electricity meters to actually spin in reverse!

In other words, private citizens can sell energy to municipal power providers. Experts tell us that Thailand will be facing future energy crunches, and that currently Thailand is investing heavily in Laos and Burma in order to try to allay its inability to produce sufficient energy within the country.

The government can and should also be offering incentives for the "little people" to wean themselves off of the national power grid. Many countries worldwide offer matching funds or tax relief for purchases of alternative power. At the very least, Thailand could offer to do away with the 7-per-cent VAT tax for such purchases.

Matching funds could be manifested by the government paying 50 per cent. For example, if a homeowner installed a Bt30,000 solar panel array, the government could pay half, or forgive that amount for the following year's taxes. It would be a "win-win" for all parties.

It appears that Egat is easing off its insistence on nuclear power plants, and we're thankful for that. Wind power appears to be a limited option for Thailand, because of the lack of ground-level winds and the lack of technology to tap into - and awareness of - the immense potential of jet stream winds.

Coal-fired furnaces are on their way out, but LPG and natural gas are reasonable options for the near term. That leaves hydro, thermal and solar as the most viable options for future energy production.

Since most of us don't have a rushing river or hot springs in our backyard - solar takes the cake. Recent technological advances have shown efficiency rates of over 41 per cent from arrays of tiny solar cells using fresnel lenses (google: Semprius).

Solar power generation is also viable for large municipal scale, but that's another letter for another day.

Ken Albertsen

Chiang Rai