Thailand backs 10,000 MW household solar programme with 20-year purchase terms

Thailand’s National Energy Policy Council has approved an expansion of the household solar programme to a total purchase target of 10,000 MW, with surplus electricity bought at THB2.20 per kilowatt-hour over 20 years.

The decision on 18 September extends the purchase term from 10 years and allows household installations on the ground and on water as well as rooftops. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said the wider choice would support household access to clean energy.

Under the net-billing arrangement, households use their solar electricity first and sell the surplus to the grid. Electricity offered for sale is capped at 5 kW per meter. That export limit is separate from the size of the installed system, which may be larger under the applicable rules.

Qualifying participants in earlier household solar programmes will also receive the longer purchase term. The council assigned the Energy Regulatory Commission to revise the regulations and purchasing criteria needed to implement the expansion.

The decision creates a larger policy framework for household solar suppliers and installers. Its scope remains household generation and surplus sales, rather than a tender for large commercial solar farms.

The council also instructed agencies to prepare the electricity network for greater solar production. The environment ministry identified storage and the management of retired panels and batteries as part of that work.

Thai PBS · Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment · Thairath