Agriculture ministry to give one million farms in Thailand solar panels
Thailand’s agriculture ministry plans to install solar panels on at least one million of Thailand’s farms in a new pilot project aiming to reduce farms’ electricity bills by 20-30% in 15-20 years. The ministry plans to issue a non-fungible token named “Solar Panels NFT for Thai Farmers” worth around 697 billion baht to legally trade with international investors in Singapore.
The ministry’s deputy minister told reporters money raised from the cryptocurrency will be used to buy high-quality solar panels, and give them to farmers. In addition to helping reduce farms’ electricity bills, the project will also help reduce Thailand’s greenhouse emissions. The project might even expand across Thailand’s homes and businesses.
Some solar farms have already taken off in Thailand. One ‘floating farm‘ in Ubon Ratchathani, a northeastern province, started generating power in November. Solar panels cover 720,000 square meters of water surface, and use a hybrid system that converts sunlight to electricity by day and generates hydropower at night. The project includes a ‘Nature Walkway’ shaped like a sun ray.
Thailand currently still relies heavily on fossil fuel. The country’s Energy Policy and Planning Office said in October 2021, 55% of power came from natural gas. It said 11% came from renewables and hydropower. At the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland last year, PM Prayut set the carbon neutrality goal for 2050, as well as a goal to have net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2065.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
