Environment
Thailand to put world’s largest floating solar farm into use this June
The facility, which generates power on a water surface of 72 hectares, was originally scheduled for operation in December last year, but the launch was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bangkok (VNA) – State-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) expects to operate a 45-megawatt floating solar farm it claims to be the largest in the world this June.
Egat signed a contract with B.Grimm Power Plc, which will serve as an engineering, procurement and construction firm to develop photovoltaic panels worth 842 million baht (28 million USD) on Sirindhorn Dam in Ubon Ratchathani, where an Egat hydropower plant is operating.
The floating solar farm is designed to be a hybrid system, working in tandem with 36MW of hydropower generation to increase optimisation capacity.
The facility, which generates power on a water surface of 72 hectares, was originally scheduled for operation in December last year, but the launch was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Local media quoted Chatchai Mawong, Egat’s director for hydro and renewable energy power plant development, as saying that construction is now 82 percent complete. Workers began installing the first lot of floating solar panels in December 2020 and are speeding up installation.
Under the 2018 National Power Development Plan, Egat is committed to building more floating solar farms on all nine of its dams nationwide over the next 20 years, with a combined capacity of 2,725MW.
It is also planning to adopt a modern energy management and energy storage systems, crucial to store electricity produced by solar panels./.
VNA
Environment
Disparity worsens ocean pollution
Most of the Thai marine waste is plastics led by plastic debris (12%), Styrofoam boxes (10%), food wrappers (8%), plastic bags (8%), glass bottles (7%), plastic bottles (7%), and straws (5%).
Ocean plastic pollution is threatening humanity and Thailand cannot escape the blame as one of the world’s worst marine polluters. Although the government has pledged to tackle marine pollution, one thing is certain. Success is out of reach if the state authorities fail to engage local communities as equal partners.
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Asean
ASEAN takes on Circular Economy as part of priority agenda
The circular ‘reuse-reduce-recycle’ approach promotes a more efficient use of resources, thereby contributing to ASEAN Member States’ commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change and the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.
Today, ASEAN Secretariat conducted an online workshop on Circular Economy. The workshop gathered relevant sectoral bodies to discuss the draft Framework for Circular Economy for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which is one of the priority economic deliverables for Brunei Darussalam’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year.
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TAT expects 850 billion baht ($25.7 bln) in tourism revenue after successful reopening
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has set this year’s revenue target at 850 billion baht, 300 billion of which...
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