RWE Schott gets 500 kW Thai solar farm contract; expansion on hold

The Thai government has finally signed a contract to build a 500 kW solar farm in the mountainous northeastern province of Mae Hong Son. 

The winning bid went to Germany's RWE Solutions AG on Feb. 11. Brigitte Schneider-Gmelch, vice-president of the company's PV joint venture RWE Schott Solar GmbH, says that ASE 300 modules for the pilot project will be delivered in October for installation next February, going online in April 2004. She declined to say how much the deal was worth. 

But a source at the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) says the cost was roughly 193 million THB ($4.5 million). That works out to about $9 per watt. Bidding on the long-delayed installation for Mae Hong Son, the only Thai province where EGAT has no plans for extending the grid, was announced in Aug. 2000 (see PI 9/2000, p. 25). 

The goal of adding another six installations equal to 4.25 MW in Mae Hong Son's Muang district has been put on hold, says the EGAT source:»After the 500 kW installation is finished, there will be a six-month review before any decision is made.« 

William P. Hirhman
© PHOTON International, March 2003