Thailand: Eppo vows renewable FIT cut

Thailand: Eppo vows renewable FIT cut

Policymakers are planning to revise down the feed-in tariff (FIT) on
renewable power for the upcoming round of quotas to grant licences to
private investors, says the Energy Policy and Planning Office (Eppo).

Deputy director-general Prasert Sinsukprasert said renewable power
generation and systems to manage feedstock have trimmed down generation
costs.

Generation is coming from sun, wind, biomass, biogas, and the industrial and
agricultural sectors.

As power-generation costs have gone down, the FIT rate should be modified to
reflect the new price, said Mr Prasert. The FIT revision will be finalised
by the end of the year and become effective in early 2018.

There will be additional changes to the process. Licence distribution by the
Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) may happen via auctions instead of lucky
draws, he said.

"Auctioning renewable power licences will increase competition in the
sector," said Mr Prasert.

He said an auction of hybrid renewable power licences is scheduled to take
place in the second half this year. Each licence will entitle producers to
10-50 megawatts. The auction is slated to license 300MW and is directed
primarily at small power producers (SPP).

SPP hybrid power purchase agreements will set the business model for firm
power purchase agreements in sectors other than renewable power. The auction
will be conducted by ERC, and licences will be allocated among zones,
depending on the volumes of renewable feedstock.

Energy analyst Manoon Siriwan said the revision is appropriate because
Thailand's renewable power is moving from subsidies to the competition
stage.

Renewable power was introduced to Thai investors in 2007, with policymakers
supporting its development through high rates, including an 8.5 baht per
kilowatt hour rate on solar power. Over the last decade, renewable power has
expanded from pilot or administrative projects with a total capacity of less
than 100MW to a total capacity of almost 10,000MW.

Dusit Kruangam, chairman of the Thai Photovoltaic Industry Association, said
the FIT for capacities less than 10MW should remain flat to support small
businesses owning power generation systems, reducing their operating costs.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1281979/eppo-vows-renewable-fit-cut

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com