The project Clean, Affordable and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE) in Thailand joined the Health Station Talk (สถานีกลางสุขภาวะ) programme held by the National Health Commission Office (NHCO) for a podcast series exploring practical, people-centred perspectives on solar energy. The series was structured into three sessions: installation, use and maintenance, and end-of-life.
The podcast series features Dr Nattaphorn Buayam, Research Fellow in Bio-Circular-Green-Economy Policy at the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), who discusses why “solar waste” matters and why it is becoming one of Thailand’s biggest challenges, drawing on international lessons and the role of circular economy principles in building a solar waste management system from the ground up. The series also features Jaruwan Thongsuwan, founder of an online community, who shares how solar has changed her life, from initial expectations and shifts in household electricity use to practical tips for getting the most out of a solar system. The series concludes with Dr Siripha Junlakarn, Researcher at the Energy Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University (ERI), who looks ahead to what it will take to make solar energy more accessible for everyone. She examines ongoing barriers such as energy inequality, legal frameworks, and upfront investment costs, while highlighting practical policy steps that can help expand access and support a more inclusive energy transition.
As clean energy becomes part of everyday life and well-being, the series allows audiences to explore the “Solar Journey”, from installation to daily use, and ultimately to a sustainable end-of-life. It highlights how solar is not just a tool for reducing electricity bills, but also a way of managing resources that enhances quality of life and supports long-term environmental sustainability.
From solar farms to your rooftop
Over the past decade, Thailand’s solar industry has undergone a significant transformation. In its early stages, solar development focused on large-scale solar farm projects, capital-intensive and heavily reliant on government subsidies due to high technology costs. Today, declining panel prices have made solar increasingly accessible to businesses, industries, and households.
One of the most significant shifts, according to Dr Siripha, is the rise of the “prosumer”, a combination of producer and consumer. These electricity users no longer rely solely on the grid; they generate their own power, consume what they need, and can sell surplus electricity back. This shift is reshaping how the grid is managed, making it both more complex and potentially more resilient.
How does solar change lives?
Jaruwan “Oi”, founder of a Facebook page “Ngarn Baan Tee Rak” (“Housework We Love”) and the page “Phee Mae Baan” (“The Housewife Ghost”) shares real-life experience of installing solar panels in her home, reflecting how clean energy is not just a global trend but also a way to improve quality of life at home. “Solar panels” are not just about saving on electricity bills; they bring peace of mind to families.
Oi shared that about three years ago, while building her new house in Khon Kaen, she decided to install a solar system from the very beginning rather than waiting until construction was finished.
Although her roof orientation meant installing panels facing north, which typically receives less sunlight than the south, data from the monitoring app showed she could still reduce her electricity bill by more than 37%, demonstrating both cost-effectiveness and real peace of mind.
From her experience, Oi shared practical advice for those considering solar:
- On-grid system: If the grid goes down, your power goes down too. Many people misunderstand this, standard on-grid systems shut off during outages for safety reasons.
- Hybrid system (On grid + Battery): Recommended if you want backup power during outages.
- Maintenance: Solar systems are durable. The main task is cleaning the panels at least once a year, especially before summer, to prevent dust from reducing efficiency.
- Regulatory challenges: Approval processes have historically been slow, and quotas for selling electricity back to the grid have filled quickly, posing key barriers. However, recent reforms by the National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) have streamlined procedures, introduced fixed approval timelines, and reduced permitting requirements.1 The effectiveness of these measures in easing access and addressing quota constraints will need to be seen in practice.
Solar through the lens of “happiness at home”
Through conversations in her homemaker community, Oi found that motivations for installing solar are often deeply personal. Many households choose solar for their parents’ health, allowing elderly family members to comfortably use air conditioning during the day and reduce the risk of heatstroke. Others install it to support bedridden patients who rely on oxygen machines 24/7, helping to ease the burden of high electricity costs.
For families with children, perspectives also shift toward long-term well-being, as clean energy, and even the possibility of future electric vehicles (EVs), provides peace of mind by reducing exposure to pollution. Today, solar energy is no longer just for engineers or environmentalists; it has become a practical solution for homemakers and entire families seeking greater energy security and a more sustainable quality of life.
The Case for Rooftop Solar, and Its Limits
For households that meet certain conditions, rooftop solar offers a compelling value proposition. Dr. Siripha identifies three key factors that determine whether an installation is likely to be cost-effective: daytime electricity consumption patterns (solar generation peaks during daylight hours, making it most beneficial for those home during the day), sufficient unobstructed roof area, and access to a qualified installer who can carry out a proper site survey and ensure long-term system safety.
A well-installed system has an expected lifespan of 20 to 30 years, making the choice of installer as consequential as the technology itself. However, cost-effectiveness is only part of the picture. Even where solar makes financial sense, many households face barriers that prevent installation altogether. As rooftop solar becomes increasingly viable across Thailand, structural barriers continue to exclude low-income households, renters, and urban residents from the benefits of the energy transition.
The most significant barriers are not technological; they are financial, legal, and spatial. For low-income households, the upfront investment required for a modest 3-kilowatt system, typically exceeding 100,000 Thai baht. While recent measures, such as tax deductions and instalment-based financing schemes, aim to ease this burden, these mechanisms tend to benefit households with taxable income or access to credit. 2Without access to affordable financing or subsidy mechanisms targeted at this segment, the benefits of the energy transition risk accruing disproportionately to wealthier households. Residents of condominiums and multi-unit housing face a different constraint: the absence of private roof space. In urban centres where this housing type is prevalent, individuals have no viable pathway to individual solar adoption under current frameworks, regardless of their willingness or ability to pay.
Renters represent another excluded group. Lacking legal rights to modify the properties they inhabit, tenants are structurally prevented from participating in rooftop solar, a gap that affects a significant proportion of urban populations across Thailand.
Together, these groups illustrate a core challenge in the clean energy transition: when access to cleaner, lower-cost energy is tied to property ownership and upfront capital, existing inequalities are reproduced and potentially deepened.
Policy Levers and Emerging Models
Several interventions are already in place or under active consideration in Thailand, with varying degrees of reach and effectiveness.
The People’s Solar programme provides a government buy-back rate of approximately 2.2 baht per unit for surplus electricity fed into the grid, offering prosumers a financial return on excess generation. A more recent measure allows installation costs to be offset against personal income tax liability, up to a ceiling of 200,000 baht, a meaningful incentive, though one that primarily benefits those with sufficient taxable income.
More structurally significant is the proposal to introduce Third Party Access (TPA) to the electricity grid, a framework that would allow private actors to transmit and trade electricity through existing infrastructure. Implemented effectively, TPA could enable community-level energy sharing in condominiums and residential estates, effectively extending the prosumer model to those currently excluded by spatial constraints.
Alternative ownership and financing models offer further potential. Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), in which a private company installs and owns the solar system and sells electricity to the building occupant at below-grid rates, reduce the upfront cost barrier substantially. Energy cooperatives represent a community-driven variant of this approach, pooling resources to achieve shared benefits.
From Clean Energy to Clean Systems
At a time when the world is accelerating its transition to clean energy, “solar panels” and “batteries” have become the shining heroes helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But a crucial question that many may overlook is: when these devices reach the end of their lifespan, where will they go? And how can we ensure that this clean energy is truly sustainable?
Dr Nattaphorn pointed out that Thailand has achieved remarkable success in promoting solar energy. From just 2.5 megawatts of capacity in 2002, it surged to nearly 5,000 megawatts in 2022, an increase of almost 2,000 times over 20 years. However, hidden within this success is a “ticking time bomb.” These solar panels, with a combined weight of over 270,000 tons, have a lifespan of only 20–25 years. Globally, solar panel e-waste could reach as much as 130 million tons, posing a major challenge for all countries.
Currently, Thailand still lacks clear and comprehensive guidelines for managing solar panels and battery waste. Although the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) (คณะกรรมการกำกับกิจการพลังงาน: กกพ.) has outlined three methods, landfilling, incineration, and exporting waste abroad, these apply only to electricity producers for sale, not to the rapidly growing number of rooftop solar systems in households.
Dr Nattaporn emphasised that a sustainable solution lies in adopting the Circular Economy concept, transforming “burden” into “business opportunity” through “Urban Mining”:
- Solar panels: High-purity silicon and glass can be extracted and reused.
- Batteries: Contain valuable elements such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium, all of which Thailand currently imports 100%. Developing a strong recycling industry could enhance resource security and reduce reliance on imports.
Clean energy itself is not a problem any longer. It can become a truly transformative solution only if we “think about the end” from the beginning, designing products for easy recycling and building efficient collection systems. This responsibility lies with all sectors: government, private sector, and consumers.
Dr Nattaphorn highlighted the European Union’s strict regulations based on the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), requiring manufacturers to take responsibility for the disposal of their products. It also mandates that new batteries contain a certain percentage of recycled materials to create economic value and incentivise circularity.
In Thailand, however, the main issue is the absence of a clear responsible authority. The draft law on e-waste management has been pending for over 10 years, resulting in a lack of concrete enforcement and incentives.
Looking Ahead: Solar in Thailand’s Energy Transition
Solar energy in Thailand is no longer a distant concept confined to large-scale projects; it is increasingly part of everyday life, shaping how households produce, use, and think about energy. As the experiences in this series show, solar can deliver tangible benefits, from lowering electricity costs to improving comfort and well-being at home.
At the same time, its expansion is uneven. Financial, legal, and spatial barriers continue to limit who can participate, while regulatory processes and grid constraints shape how far and how fast adoption can grow. Alongside this, the question of what happens at the end of a system’s life is becoming more urgent as installations scale up across the country.
Taken together, these realities point to a transition that is still in progress, one that requires not only technological uptake but also enabling policies, inclusive models, and clearer systems for managing long-term impacts.
Re-watch the podcast series here:
EP 48 : End-of-Life: พลังงานสะอาด… จบที่ตรงไหน? เมื่อ “ทางออก” ของโลก อาจกลายเป็น “ภาระ” ในอนาคต
EP.50: Install – ใครอยากใช้พลังงานทางเลือก และใครกันแน่ที่เข้าถึงได้จริง?
This blog piece is based on the Health Station Talk podcast, Solar Journey series (EP. 48: End-of-Life, EP. 49: Use & Maintain, EP. 50: Install), featuring Dr Natthaporn Buayam (TDRI), Jaruwan Thongsuwan (Founder, Ngan Baan Thi Rak), and Dr Siripha Junlakarn (ERI, Chulalongkorn University). The content has been translated and adapted from the original Thai. Views and information presented reflect those of the speakers and do not represent the position of any affiliated institution or organisation.
