Thailand is moving closer to introducing a 50,000-baht solar panel subsidy for up to one million households after a government screening committee approved a proposed 50-billion-baht funding package.
The scheme is expected to go before the Cabinet on October 26, with registration potentially opening in mid-November.
Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Lawaron Sangsanit confirmed the committee’s approval today, October 20.
Thailand’s solar subsidy would help eligible households install solar panels on their roofs or on the ground, allowing them to generate electricity for domestic use and sell surplus power to the electricity distribution network.
The proposed subsidy is capped at 50,000 baht per household, with one entitlement available per household. Applicants would need to be registered electricity meter holders or electricity customers, subject to the final eligibility rules.
The 50-billion-baht budget would come from the energy transition portion of the government’s borrowing programme, which has a wider allocation of 200 billion baht.
To help households cover installation costs beyond the subsidy, state-owned banks, including the Government Savings Bank, Government Housing Bank and Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, are expected to offer special loans.
Daily News reported a proposed interest rate of 2.5% over seven years without collateral. The financing arrangements would allow electricity income from selling surplus power to be used towards loan repayments.
Officials estimated that a five-kilowatt system could generate approximately 1,000 baht a month from surplus electricity sales, depending on the electricity produced and exported to the grid.
However, that figure is a projection, not a guaranteed monthly payment.
The plan builds on an existing programme allowing households to sell excess solar electricity to the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) and Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA).
Under the existing MEA buy-back arrangement, surplus electricity is purchased at 2.20 baht per unit under a 10-year contract, subject to the programme’s rules.
The proposed subsidy is not yet open for applications. The Interior Ministry is expected to seek Cabinet approval on October 26 before confirming the registration process and final conditions.
If approved, applications could begin around the middle of November, although that date has not been finalised.
The story One million homes could get 50,000 baht for solar panels as seen on Thaiger News.