Chris Greacen 19 June 2009 From remote villages to government boardrooms: some notes on efforts to leverage change using renewable energy Palang Thai

Palang Thai พลังไท Thailand NGO Objective: –To ensure that the transformations that occur in the region's energy sector: augment, rather than undermine, social and environmental justice and sustainability. Key approaches: –We teach hands-on energy technology –We draft / comment on policies –We work to empower citizens to look critically at government and industry projects and plans –We advocate structural reform พลัง (palang): n 1. Power. 2. Empowerment. ไท (thai): adj. 1. Independence. 2. Self-reliance

Outline hands-on village scale –solar electricity for medical clinics in Karen-controlled Burma –village micro-hydropower – Thailand energy politics and policy –Very Small Power Producer (VSPP) program –Bo Nok / Hin Krud – stopping silly big power plants institutional aikido

Conflict area Little/no rural electrification Joint effort: TOPS (Taiwan), Palang Thai (Thailand), SunEnergy Power (USA) Green Empowerment (USA)

Border Green Energy Team Solar electricity for 40 medical clinics for internally displaced inside Burma

Up to 2 million internally displaced people in Burma

Ruggedized solar electric systems built by medics in 3-5 day hands-on trainings 9 trainings ( ) >90 medics trained 40 clinics

Community micro-hydro (12 villages)

Micro-hydroelectricity Source: Inversin, A. R. (1986). Micro-Hydropower Sourcebook.

Kre Khi village, Tak Province 1 kW for school, clinic, church Cost: <$3,500 (turbine $250) Head: 10 meters Flow: 15 lit/sec

Laos – low head micro-hydro orgy

Mae Wei – ‘pump as turbine’ off-grid induction

Video… Mae Wei

Border Green Energy Team Refugee camp trainings

So far: Solar PV Micro-hydro Hydraulic ram pump Solar cooking 7 hybrid solar/diesel systems Biogas

Solar/diesel hybrid systems for computer training centers in 7 refugee camps

Border Green Energy Team Maintenance & repair trainings for > 14,000 Thai solar home systems

Thai government solar home program 203,000 solar home systems US$200 million No maintenance plan 23% failure rate within 20 months

“The Service & Support Department is like the guy in the parade who walks behind the elephant with a broom and a big bucket”

Thai SHS in Tak province Rated 120 peak Watt single crystalline PV module Rated 150 W, 50 Hz, 230 V Inverter / 10 A Charge controller 12 V, 125 Ah deep cycle lead-acid battery Two 10 W tube fluorescent lights with electronic ballasts AC outlet for TV or other appliances

Ministry of Interior PEA Installation company End users $ $ SHS Existing linkages warranty Tax payers $

Ministry of Interior PEA Installation company End users $ $ SHS Missing linkages warranty What happens when systems fail? There is no feedback loop from the end users to installation company, PEA, government or taxpayers Tax payers $

Warranty awareness Self-help: local technicians + user training Ministry of Interior PEA Installation company End users $ $ SHS Missing linkages warranty Tax payers $ Feedback on status of systems, failure modes, successful interventions

SHS Warranty  Warranty periods –Complete system: 2 years –Solar panel: 5 years –Charge controller/Inverter:3 years –Battery: 2 years –Light/Ballast: 2 years  The system warranty is expiring within a few months  Very few villagers informed that there is a warranty

SHS Warranty  Postcards with warranty and maintenance information could be distributed by Tambons  Idea presented at meeting with DLA (Department of Local Administration)

BGET on TV Goals:  TV-broadcast discussion of SHS sustainability, need for more local capacity  Inform public of warranty

BGET SHS trainings in Tak province

Failed inverter/charge controller (~10% of all systems surveyed). Observed failure modes - inverter Solartron and PEA provided 15 replacement inverters for the first 2 trainings

Ballast failure ~9% of systems surveyed Observed failure modes - ballast

Observed failure modes –battery battery failure in ~6% of systems surveyed healthy, without sulfation sulfated plates

Installation error: Battery failure caused by solar panel installation in shady location 14:00 Saw Kre Ka village, Tha Song Yang District Problems found during training/surveys

Installation error: Bad panel locations Problems found during training surveys

User error: bypassed controller  battery overcharge 1.Villager bypasses broken controller and charges battery directly from PV 2.Battery over-charged. Electrolyte level drops and plates are exposed to air. Battery fails. 1 2 Observed failure modes – (cascading component failure)

User error: Controller bypass leads to burned diode 1 2 Observed failure modes – (cascading component failure) 1.Villager bypasses broken controller and charges battery directly from PV 2.One mistake of reverse battery polarity blows up bypass diode in PV junction box, melting junction box.

policy & planning level…

Very Small Power Producer (VSPP) regulations

Can’t we hook it up and sell power back?

VSPP meetings…

Uses waste water from cassava to make methane Produces gas for all factory heat (30 MW thermal) + 3 MW of electricity 3 x 1 MW gas generators Korat Waste to Energy – biogas … an early VSPP project

Biogas from Pig Farms Reduces air and water pollution Produces fertilizer Produces electricity 8 x 70 kW generator Ratchaburi

Biogas from Pig Farms

Bangkok Solar 1 MW PV Project size: 1 MW Uses self-manufactured a-Si

VSPP summary June 2008

Thailand VSPP Tanzania ? Cambodia ? ? ?

Next project… community built, community-owned, profitable VSPP micro-hydro

Unlimited living?

Electricity production and consumption (GWh) 1700 families relocated Loss of livelihood for >6200 families Loss of 116 fish species (44%) Fishery yield down 80% 65 Mae Hong Song Source: MEA, EGAT, Searin, Graphic: Green World Foundation Dams Malls Province Pak Mun Impacts of Pak Mun Dam alone

Bonok-Ban Krud story

Bonok Bankrud

Power Demand: Projections vs. Actual MW

Linear versus exponential extrapolation

Fuel mix in power generation - power development plan 2007 GWh Import Nuke RE Gas Coal Lignite Hydro

Thai – Pacific Northwest power planning exchange

Leveraging change ActivityLeverage Medical clinic PV in Burma40 clinics serve 100,000+ “It’s hard to do amputations with a flashlight” Micro-hydro* inexpensive(<$2per W) Intuitive & local Refugee camp trainings* If peace comes and repatriation can happen, refugees are returning to a ‘blank slate’ VSPP * Renewables becomes viable grid- connected business. * “Power plant” redefined. Power sector planning reformTransparency Accounability public participation End to “too much generation capacity” and “wrong kinds”.

Principles Commit Be flexible and open to opportunities for equilibrium-shifting change Take time for reflection… stay real Document and release “Many hands make light work”

For more information Chom and Chris Greacen Palang Thai Skype: chrisgreacen

Thailand in context Constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system (similar to England) Size: about 4/5 of California Population: 66 million (2x that of CA) GDP (PPP) : $553 billion (1/3 of CA’s) GDP per capita: $8,500 (1/6 of CA’s) Energy consumption: 57 million BTU (1/4 of CA’s) Peak power demand: 23 GW (<half of CA’s) 99.8% of villages are electrified

78 North Korea village wind farm

79

80 Powerhouse under construction

81 Interphase with DPRK grid

82 Farm manager starts windturbine

83

Hourly load curve, by year from 1985 to Graph based on an appliance usage survey of 35 families in Mae Kam Pong village, April and June 2001.

Contribution to evening maximum peak demand by appliance, for the years 1985 – 2001.