Thailand: Wind farm contracts to be reviewed

Thailand: Wind farm contracts to be reviewed

All Sor Por Kor land lease contracts for wind energy projects will be
reviewed to ensure they are not misused following the Supreme Administrative
Court's ruling.

The Agricultural Land Reform (Alro) secretary-general Sompong Inthong said
Thursday that officials are looking into details of every contract for Sor
Por Kor land leased to companies that build wind farms to generate
electricity in Chaiyaphum and Nakhon Ratchasima province.

The move came the day after the Nakhon Ratchasima Administrative Court ruled
that 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 besides agriculture can be done only if those activities
are in the interests of farmers.

For wind farms, even though generating electricity is in the interests of
the public, it is also a profit-making business and does not offer direct
benefits to farmers, the court said. The court upheld the lower court's
decision.

Mr Sompong said land lease contracts for wind farm projects would be revised
to comply with the court's ruling.

Any contracts which breach the law based on the court's verdict will be
amended. Operators will be required to consider any interests and benefits
their projects can provide to farmers and, if they have any, such promises
will be added in their contacts.

Mr Sompong said so far, Alro has approved Sor Por Kor land lease contracts
for 19 business operators in Chaiyaphum and Nakhon Ratchasima.

In Chaiyaphum, there are 12 companies which have leased land covering 345
rai. Of them four companies are operational, six 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.

Meanwhile, Weerapol Chirapraditkul, a member of the Energy Regulatory
Commission, said the commission will hold talks with Alro next week to
discuss the misuse of Sor Por Kor land for wind farm energy projects.

If the projects need to be scrapped, a relief plan would be set up to help
affected companies, he added.

Thai Wind Energy Association vice-president Sumeth Suthapati said the
court's ruling will lead to strict rules regulating the use of Sor Por Kor
land.

He urged the government to stipulate clear requirements for the use of Sor
Por Kor land for private companies to follow.

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 decided
to rent the land to Thep Sathit Wind Farm Co.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1191645/wind-farm-contracts-to-be-re
viewed

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com