Thailand will soon be home to Southeast Asia’s largest solar power source, to be constructed by Suntech Power Holdings and completed by 2011. This solar power plant will have a capacity of 44 megawatts (MW) from its photovoltaic panels, and will supply power to the capital, Bangkok, as well as nearby communities.

While setting goals for solar energy contributions to main power grids are common in Europe, they are less common in Southeast Asia, which largely relies on coal and oil for electricity. However, Thailand has put in motion a plan to derive 20 percent of its electricity from solar sources by 2022, and this new solar power plant will be a major contributor to fulfilling this design.

The growth of solar power in Asia is increasing, and the Asian Development Bank has predicted that energy demands will rise 80 percent before 2030. Solar power is increasingly being seen as a way to meet these energy demands while avoiding ecological disaster. Correspondingly, solar energy output has risen with the need for more electricity; the total solar output jumped from 630 MW in 2008 to 900 MW in 2009.

Since fossil fuels may not be as available in the future, some manufacturing and government leaders believe that solar power may be the only way to insure the continuation of industrial growth in Southeast Asia.

The initial phase of the project will involve the installation of 34.5 MV of solar panels provided by Suntech Power Holdings, and as construction is completed, maintenance and operation of the plant will shift to Bangchak Petroleum, a Thai company, and Solartron, a solar power company.

While Bangchak Petroleum’s main business is in oil, it is expanding into green energy, and plans on investing about $716 million on renewable energy sources in the next five years.