Fang geothermal plant in Chiang Mai, model for more to come in Thailand?

Fang geothermal plant in Chiang Mai, model for more to come in Thailand?

Thailand has been seeking to diversify from its currently fossil fuel based
power generation towards more renewable energy power generation.

Geothermal is one of the option and in a recent piece by a local TV station,
some footage shows the Fang/ Chiang Mai geothermal plant in the province of
Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.

The plant started operation in December 1989. The development was a joint
technical cooperation project between the BRGM, Geowatt of France and EGAT
formulated during 1981-1984. The purpose was to model geothermal reservoir
and to appraise geothermal enthalpy targeting for electrical generation.

The plant is using binary cycle technology. "The inlet vaporizer
temperature, after passing through air released tank, varies between 115 to
120 degrees Celsius and the temperature of the hot water released from
vaporizer outlet is approximately 80 degrees Celsius (Korjedee and
Prasatkhetwittaya, 1997). The thermal waters released from the power plant,
since these are very clean, are planned to be exploited downstream for
non-electrical utilizations and will be discussed later. Output from the 300
kW plant is connected to the local distribution grid system of the
Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) and provided 1.2 million kWh
annually." (M. Raksakulwong, 2015)

There is though limited potential for large scale geothermal utilisation for
power generation, as geothermal resources in Thailand are "classified into
low-medium enthalpy. Hot spring manifestation in northern Thailand provides
higher potential than in the other part. Many expert teams point out that
there are suitable possibilities for small scale power plant i.e. 1-10 MWe."

High oil prices saw increased interest in geothermal utilisation in
2010-2014 and there is some research ongoing to explore opportunities to
develop geothermal power plants sized 1-5 MWe.

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Ref:
http://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/fang-geothermal-plant-in-chiang-mai-model-for-
more-to-come-in-thailand/?utm_source=ThinkGeoEnergy+List&utm_campaign=397d2a
1559-TGE_Newsletter_RSS1_12_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_657e42f767-397d
2a1559-415237525

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com