In Singapore, a similar solar panel scheme is operational on Tengeh Reservoir, while plans are underway to rollout similar projects in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The emerging technology is showing promise and generating interest throughout Southeast Asia.
It is the first of what could be many similar floating solar panel projects rolled out across Thailand, as the country takes early steps to decarbonise its energy sector. Both share the same existing grid transmission lines and transformers. The solar panels can make electricity throughout the day while the sun shines, and the hydropower dam can operate at night. The 45 megawatts of peak power the project can produce complements the existing dam operations, which can generate an additional 36MW, and provide electricity across three provinces in eastern Thailand. Installed on the surface of the water are 144,000 separate solar panels, the equivalent of 100 football fields. The reservoir is now home to the world’s largest hybrid solar-hydropower project. Once again, enterprise is harnessing nature here. The pure scale of this ambitious project is difficult to appreciate from afar.įorty years ago, the face of this land was shaped by the construction of the Sirindhorn Dam, a then-controversial project designed to provide hydropower and irrigation water to the area. BANGKOK: From the shoreline, the newest piece of Thailand’s renewable energy future is just a shimmer in the distance.