Thailand has proposed to finance its expanded public solar program with THB 75 billion
The program targets up to 1.5 million households, with a THB 50,000 subsidy available for eligible solar installations
Thailand previously doubled the program’s planned capacity from 5 GW to 10 GW, expanding eligibility to rooftop, ground-mounted, and floating solar
Thailand has proposed THB 75 billion in funding for its expanded public solar program, dubbed ‘People’s Solar’, to support household solar installations and increase access to renewable power.
The proposal, reported by The Nation, includes THB 50 billion for the first phase and THB 25 billion for the second phase. The program is expected to initially support 1 million households, with a further 500,000 households potentially covered in the second phase.
The government plans to provide a THB 50,000 subsidy per household for solar installations. Eligible systems can include rooftop, ground-mounted, and floating solar projects, with system capacity of up to 10 kW.
The government would purchase surplus electricity generated by participating households at THB 2.20/kWh under 20-year agreements, according to the report.
Three state-owned banks – Government Housing Bank (GH Bank), Government Savings Bank (GSB), and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) – will offer solar installation loans at 2.5% annual interest for up to seven years. Electricity sales revenue will be automatically used to repay the loans, with any surplus available to reduce other bank debts, the report adds.
The financing proposal follows Thailand's decision in September 2026 to double the planned capacity of its public solar power program from 5 GW to 10 GW. The expanded program also broadened its scope beyond rooftop solar to include ground-mounted and floating installations in order to provide more opportunities for people with limited rooftop space to participate in the program.
The September announcement had targeted the expanded 10 GW program at around 1 million households, with the government seeking to accelerate distributed solar deployment while reducing dependence on conventional power generation.
Under the expanded scheme, the government opened the program to ground- and floating-mounted systems, while limiting eligible sales to 5 kW per meter. Authorities have also ordered grid upgrades covering forecasting, real-time monitoring, system controls, smart-meter integration, and battery storage to accommodate the additional distributed generation.
“Expanding to 10,000 megawatts will open up more opportunities for the public to participate in clean energy production, but this must be done in conjunction with preparing the network to ensure that the increased production capacity does not affect the stability of the power system,” said Lalida Periswiwatana, Deputy Spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office back then.
Thailand’s National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) has separately tasked the Ministry of Industry with developing a plan for solar-panel and battery recycling.
