Rooftop solar panels have been installed at hospitals in Thailand thanks to money raised through a crowdfunding campaign. The panels are now operational at seven hospitals and connect directly to the national grid; as well as saving the institutions money on their energy bills, the systems will reduce their carbon footprint – as well as that (albeit in a small way) of the country as a whole.
The organisation behind the project in the Northeastern Region, the Thailand Solar Fund, says hospitals and other public healthcare facilities in the country spend a third of their budgets on electricity, so generating their own power via solar panels will ease this burden on the taxpayer. It hopes that its work will provide a model to be replicated by institutions across the country.
Under Thailand’s Power Development Plan 2018-2037, the aim is for only 20% of future energy capacity to come from renewable sources, with 53% from natural gas, 12% from coal and the remainder from other sources including imports. However, Greenpeace is campaigning in Thailand for a fair system that will allow households with solar panels to sell power to the national grid – thereby giving citizens access to affordable and clean energy while reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuels for power generation. The hospital solar project is a step in the right direction.
further reading…
Rooftop solar panels have been installed at hospitals in Thailand thanks to money raised through a crowdfunding campaign. The panels are now operational at seven hospitals and connect directly to the national grid; as well as saving the institutions money on their energy bills, the systems will reduce their carbon footprint – as well as that (albeit in a small way) of the country as a whole.
The organisation behind the project in the Northeastern Region, the Thailand Solar Fund, says hospitals and other public healthcare facilities in the country spend a third of their budgets on electricity, so generating their own power via solar panels will ease this burden on the taxpayer. It hopes that its work will provide a model to be replicated by institutions across the country.
Under Thailand’s Power Development Plan 2018-2037, the aim is for only 20% of future energy capacity to come from renewable sources, with 53% from natural gas, 12% from coal and the remainder from other sources including imports. However, Greenpeace is campaigning in Thailand for a fair system that will allow households with solar panels to sell power to the national grid – thereby giving citizens access to affordable and clean energy while reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuels for power generation. The hospital solar project is a step in the right direction.