Chinese photovoltaic (PV) power developer Sungrow said the 58.5-megawatt (MW) floating solar farm in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, has been connected to the grid for operations, according to PV-Tech on September 17. This is Thailand’s largest hydro-floating PV plant at present, which is also combined with a hydropower plant as a hybrid power generation facility. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) last year authorized the project to a consortium, including B.Grimm Power and Energy China , among which Sungrow provided the floating solar platform for the project.

Earlier in August, EGAT stated that the 58.5MW floating PV plant was expected to start commercial operation in October. Apart from this project in Ubon Ratchathani, EGAT is planning for more hydro-solar hybrid power generation facilities, through building solar farms atop existing grid-connected hydropower plants, aiming at a total capacity of 2,725MW in the country. Previously, Sungrow also served as the supplier of a 12.5MW floating PV plant in Rayong and four such plants in Suphanburi with a total capacity of 15MW. This combination could facilitate Thailand’s goals of 35% of non-fossil fuel in its energy source mix by 2037, as well as cutting greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 20.8% at that time. According to the Bangkok Post report in March, the installed renewable energy capacity in Thailand was over 15 gigawatts (GW), or 15,000MW, accounting for over 30% of the country’s total energy. The renewable energy portfolio includes hydropower, solar energy, biomass, and wind power. It is expected that the capacity would increase to 63GW by 2030, contributing to 39% of Thailand’s power mix.

Sources:

https://www.pv-tech.org/thailands-largest-floating-solar-project-comes-online/

https://www.senecaesg.com/blog/thailand-electricity-generating-authority-to-launch-floating-solar-farm-in-october/

https://www.bgrimmpower.com/en/update/news/229/bgrimm-power-and-energy-china-consortium-to-build-the-worlds-largest-hydro-floating-solar-project-for-egat

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2083795/investment-and-innovation-in-thai-renewable-energy

https://thediplomat.com/2019/03/thailands-renewable-energy-transitions-a-pathway-to-realize-thailand-4-0/