Solar Love
  • Rooftop Solar
    • Energy Storage
  • Solar Panels
  • Policy
  • Research
    • Science
    • Market Research
    • Solar Perceptions & Polls
  • Related Pages
    • Energy Seek: Business Electricity Prices
    • Energy Seek: Compare Business Gas
    • Energy Seek: Compare Energy Suppliers
    • OVO Energy: Energy Efficient Cooking
    • EDF Energy: Energy Efficient Lighting
    • Constellation: Energy Efficient Air Con

Solar Love

  • Rooftop Solar
    • Energy Storage
  • Solar Panels
  • Policy
  • Research
    • Science
    • Market Research
    • Solar Perceptions & Polls
  • Related Pages
    • Energy Seek: Business Electricity Prices
    • Energy Seek: Compare Business Gas
    • Energy Seek: Compare Energy Suppliers
    • OVO Energy: Energy Efficient Cooking
    • EDF Energy: Energy Efficient Lighting
    • Constellation: Energy Efficient Air Con
Activism

Financing Key To Solar Power In Developing Countries

by Steve Hanley August 19, 2016
written by Steve Hanley August 19, 2016
Financing Key To Solar Power In Developing Countries

In 2009, Wandee Khunchornyakong, an enterprising woman in Thailand, wanted to find out how to add renewable solar power to her local electrical grid. She went to a government office to find out more information. There, she found permits for solar installations just begging for people to take advantage of them. She picked one up but a government clerk told her, “Please, take more. No one wants them.” So she did. When she left the office, she took almost three dozen solar permits with her.

Wandee+Story+main+banner

Having permits is one thing. Finding the money to build solar power installations is quite another. She was turned down for financing by local banks repeatedly. 7 years ago, Thailand had almost no solar power. The technology was new and untested. Traditional lenders were afraid to invest in something they knew little about.

Undaunted, Khunchornyakong made contact with International Finance Corporation, an arm of the World Bank. IFC recognized the power of her dream of bringing renewable energy to the sunny, rural areas of northeast Thailand and agreed to provide the financing she needed to get started.

Solar power in ThailandBeginning in 2010, IFC invested $15.8 million in Solar Power Company, the company started by Khunchornyakong. The money was used to construct 3 solar farms with a capacity of 18 megawatts. That investment sent a powerful signal to other lenders, who soon agreed to provide another $800 million in financing. By 2014, Solar Power Company had 36 solar installations with a combined capacity of 260 megawatts.

Thailand generates most of its electricity by burning natural gas. It is anxious to transition away from using fossil fuels and increase the amount of energy it gets from renewable sources. Today, the private sector is promising to invest $2 billion in solar power over the next 5 years. Thailand plans to increase solar energy production to 6,000 megawatts by 2036. That would represent 9% of its total electricity needs, compared with just 4% in 2014.

Since 2010, Solar Power Corporation has created 20,000 local jobs and is one of the largest providers of solar power in Thailand. It is now contemplating expansion into Myanmar and the Philippines.

For her role in bringing solar power to Thailand, Wandee Khunchornyakong was awarded the 2014 United Nations’ Momentum for Change award for her innovative efforts to address both the climate change and wider economic, social, and environmental challenges. She hopes her efforts will encourage other nations to consider investing in solar power to transform their societies by using clean renewable solar power instead of fossil fuels for their electrical needs.

Source and photo credits: International Finance Corporation

International Finance Corporationnatural gasrenewable energysolar entrepreneurThailandWorld Bank
0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterest
Steve Hanley

writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island. You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.

previous post
Australian Experiment Will Allow People To Sell Excess Solar Power To Each Other
next post
Solar Training Courses Can’t Keep Up With Demand

You may also like

Blending Solar Power With Personal Empowerment In Lebanon

March 8, 2017

Solar Power Coming To 10,000 Nigerian Homes Thanks...

February 25, 2017

One Man Changed How Cambridge, Massachusetts Thinks About...

November 10, 2016

Florida Voters Reject Utility Sponsored Solar Amendment

November 9, 2016

Actor Mark Ruffalo Delivers Solar Panels To Dakota...

October 31, 2016

Original: Tesla & SolarCity’s New Solar Shingles

October 29, 2016

Community Solar Project To Retrain Unemployed Coal Miners

September 26, 2016

SolarCity Helps To Bring Solar Power To Virunga...

August 28, 2016

“Solar For All” Shows How Utilities Can Increase...

June 25, 2016

Top Solar Speakers Converge On Berlin April 10th

March 12, 2016

Follow Me

Facebook

Recent Posts

  • Meet PVCase: A 3D Solar Design Software That Every PV Designer Should Consider

    June 12, 2019
  • Mitsui To Partner With Indian Company For Distributed Solar Projects

    June 10, 2019
  • India’s NTPC Offers Solar Project Management Services To ISA Members

    June 9, 2019
  • Equinor & Scatec Solar Complete 162 Megawatt Brazilian Solar Plant

    November 29, 2018
  • Gamesa Awarded 400 Megawatt Solar Project In Egypt

    November 29, 2018
  • Facebook

@2019 - All Right Reserved solarlove.org


Back To Top