Thailand: Dodgy wind farm deals to get the chop

Thailand: Dodgy wind farm deals to get the chop

Any 'Sor Por Kor' land lease contracts for wind energy projects which are
deemed a misuse of the land will be cancelled, Agriculture Minister Chatchai
Sarikulya says.

The contracts for the land leased to the remaining 19 companies that build
wind farms to generate electricity must be reviewed within 90 days or by
April 26 to comply with a recent Supreme Administrative Court ruling, he
said.

Any contracts which breach the law based on the court's ruling will be
amended, Gen Chatchai said.

Still a priority: Renewal energy push will continue

The Nakhon Ratchasima Administrative Court ruled recently the Chaiyaphum
land reform committee's decision to lease the land to Thep Sathit Wind Farm
Co was unlawful and ordered it revoked.

According to the court, the land lease for the company is in breach of the
agricultural land reform law which requires that allowing Sor Por Kor land
use for activities other than agriculture can be done only if those
activities are in the interests of farmers.

Wind farms generate electricity, which is in the interests of the public.
However, they are also a profit-making business and do not offer direct
benefits to farmers, the court said. The court upheld the lower court's
decision.

Chamnan Klinchan, a Nakhon Ratchasima land reform officer, said the office
is waiting for instructions from the Agricultural Land Reform Office, adding
seven companies had asked the office on how to proceed.

The office is ready to comply with the court ruling that provincial land
reform committees have no authority to lease such land to the private
company.

The Agricultural Land Reform Office (Alro) will inspect wind farm projects
run by the remaining 19 companies to see if any of them comply with the law.

The findings are expected to be wrapped up next week, Mr Chamnan said.

Alro has approved Sor Por Kor land lease contracts for 20 business operators
in Chaiyaphum and Nakhon Ratchasima.

In Chaiyaphum, there are 13 companies, including the Thep Sathit Wind Farm,
which have leased land covering 380 rai. Of them, four companies are
operational, six wind farms are under construction and two have not begun
construction.

In Nakhon Ratchasima, seven companies received approval to lease land
covering 282 rai. Two of them are operating and the remaining five are under
construction.

The court case in Chaiyaphum, which has raised doubts over the fate of wind
farm projects, came about after protests by 10 residents of tambon Ban Rai
and the Association of Lawyers for Environmental Protection.

The group filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court against officials
for allowing the land to be leased to Thep Sathit Wind Farm Co.

On Sept 23, 2009, the land reform committee of Chaiyaphum province adopted a
resolution to rent the land to Thep Sathit Wind Farm Co -- 100%-owned by
Energy Absolute Plc (EA), a SET-listed renewable power generator -- to build
a wind farm to produce electricity.

Based on the provincial land reform committee's decision, Alro signed a
contract in 2012 allowing the company to rent the 39-rai plot for 27 years.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1193281/dodgy-wind-farm-deals-to-get
-the-chop

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com