Wind power in Thailand
This, along with repeated occurrence of oil crises, raised awareness of renewable energy since The Fifth National Economic and Social Development Plan (1983-1987).
Later, in 1981, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Thonburi (KMITT) and King Mongkut's Institute of Technology North Bangkok (KMITNB), in cooperation with Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), produced another wind resource map with 13 year-long data (1966-1978) from 53 wind speed measurement stations of the TMD, using power law to standardize all wind speed to 10 m. In 1984, another similar attempt was carried out by KMITT, using 17 year-long (1966-1982) data from 62 measurement stations, and with financial support from USAID.
In the same year, the World Bank offered another set of wind resource maps for four countries: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand, which was calculated from global wind data and each country's geographical data using computer simulations.
The outcome was satisfying, so in 1988 EGAT planned to connect the turbines to the power grid of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), and in 1990 they started operating.
[4] Later, both government and private organizations, especially educational institutes, had more interest in the potential in wind power in Thailand.
A study conducted in 2001 for the World Bank found limited potential for large-scale wind power in Thailand.
Seventy-three percent of the rural population lived in areas with "fair to good" wind resources.
The southwest monsoon comes from the Indian Sea between May and October, producing strong wind at the peaks of mountain ranges in the west part of upper southern and lower northern Thailand.
[8] As of the end of 2014, Thailand's wind power capacity stood at 224.5 MW, generating 305 GWh of energy throughout the year.
Also, Energy Absolute Public Company Limited, headed by Somphote Ahunai, is constructing three wind farm projects in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province with combined installed capacity of 126 MW.
It also plans to start construction of five more projects in 2017 in Chaiyaphum Province, northeast Thailand, which will produce 260 MW of electricity.
But with PEA buying electricity with FiT system at the typical rate of about six baht/kWh, production by very small power producers (VSPP) is possible.
As a result of the government's continuous supporting policy, renewable energy consumption has grown dramatically.
Most recently in 2014, combined net value of investment in renewable energy both from the government and private organizations amounted to 84,588 million baht.
