Thailand builds a massive floating hydro-solar farm
Thailand is building one of the world’s biggest floating hydro-solar farms.
Location: Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand
The 300-acre venture marks a significant shift towards a greener future for the Southeast Asian country...
after years of criticism over its heavy reliance on fossil fuels.
Chanin Saleechan is at the helm of the Sirindhorn Dam project.
(CHIEF OF HYDRO-FLOATING SOLAR HYBRID PROJECT AT SIRINDHORN DAM, CHANIN SALEECHAN): "We are currently att 90% completion. The project area is divided into seven platforms of floating solar cell panels. We've already installed five-and-a-half platforms. There are still one-and-a-half platforms to work on, which we expect to complete by the end of April. And we think we will be ready to distribute electricity with this by the end of June 2021."
The state-run Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (EGAT) says the hybrid station should have capacity to generate 45 megawatts of power…
from over 144,000 units of solar panels installed on the reservoir.
An Energy Management System (EMS) will be used to switch between solar and hydropower, depending on which has more strength to generate electricity to allow for continuous power production.
"In terms of power generation, there are limitations when it comes to solar power, so we eliminated these limitations by continuously generating power via a hybrid system. Aside from that, we utilise everything we have here to make the best use of each component. We have space on the water surface, and we have a hydro power station with a high voltage power transmission system. And with that combination, it will make the cost of power generation per unit lower."
Thailand's aim is to draw 35% of the its energy from non-fossil fuel sources by 2037, according to their latest Power Development Plan.
