Solar Home Systems in Thailand First announced in 2003, Thailand is approaching completion of an ambitious program initi-ated by acting Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for the installation of approximately 200,000 solar home systems (SHS). The Thai Solar Home System program (known in Thai language as the “Krong Gan Fai Fa Euah Athorn” or “Electricity Handout Program”) adds about 22.7 MW of solar electricity to the total installed solar capacity in Thailand, which stood at just 6 MW in 2003. The program brings Thailand’s rural electrification rate to nearly 100%, and provides valuable electricity to Thai villages that do not have access to grid electricity. While it appears that the installations were quickly -- and in most cases, professionally -- done, considerable questions remain concerning the sustainability of these solar electric systems in light of several factors: virtually no local knowledge on solar home system repair, lack of locally available replacement parts, and lack of information on the part of system us-ers concerning the existence of the system’s warranty. This study discusses results from a survey of the status of 405 Thai solar home systems in two districts in Tak province. The survey finds that out of the 405 systems, 22.5% were broken within the first year. Most of the equipment failures were faulty inverter/charge-controllers and fluorescent light ballasts. This study discusses the technical nature of these failures, and identifies important linkages among failures of different components. Another key concern regarding the program is the ability of the project implementers to learn lessons from the field. The program appears to lack important linkages from the grassroots level back to decision-makers so that the existing program can be sustainable and future programs can improve. The paper below discusses the administrative arrangements in the program, and describes efforts by one grass roots group to address information/knowledge gaps in the program.
Sheme of the 120 W solar home systems installed by Solartron in Tak province
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