Umphang Project

“Umphang – Energy Sufficiency City in Honor of HM the King”

Project

A Commemorative Project to Celebrate the Auspicious

Occasion of

His Majesty the King’s 7th Cycle (84th) Birthday Anniversary

          On the auspicious occasion of the 7th Cycle (84th) of His Majesty the King’s Birthday Anniversary on 5 December 2011, Thai Oil Public Company Limited has developed energy projects to pay tribute to HM the King by applying the Sufficiency Economy philosophy to the development of community-based renewable energy projects with a view to creating prototype projects to serve as examples for other localities. Selection has been made to identify a remote area with no access to the power grid system and where the quality of life, in terms of education, public health and economic conditions of local people, is low. Eventually, the selected location is Mae Chan sub-district, Umphang district in Tak province for the development of energy projects under the umbrella project, called “Umphang – Energy Sufficiency City in Honor of HM the King.” Presently, only 20% of the total 3,206 households are electrified by a village-based hydropower project, operated by the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE); moreover, almost all health centers, Thai highlander learning centers, infant centers and schools have no access to electricity. Participating agencies in this project development comprise Mae Chan Sub-district Municipality, the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE), Energy for Environment Foundation (E for E) and Thai Oil Public Company Limited. These agencies will provide financial support via the corporate social responsibility (CSR) project under the Green Energy Mechanism of the E for E for the development of renewable energy projects as well as creation of knowledge and understanding of the application of energy derived from the projects to the improvement of the quality of life.

 

          The implementation plan of “Umphang – Energy Sufficiency City in Honor of HM the King” project during 2011-2012 will involve the development of renewable energy projects and promotion for the communities to use local resources to generate energy. The establishment of sustainable management under the operation of the communities themselves will also be encouraged. Renewable energy generated from the projects will bring about continuous

development in various aspects, including economics, education, public health and job creation for the communities. Importantly, people in the communities will have to cooperate and take part in the project development and should be aware of economical and efficient use of energy. In addition, the development will expand further from electricity procurement so as to improve local villagers’ quality of life. The development of the following projects has been set up:

 

          - one hydropower project with a generating capacity of 190 kilowatt (kW);

          - two power projects using gasification technology fueled by biomass and another one using waste as fuel; and

          - two projects of biogas system installation to produce biogas for use instead of cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

 

          Additionally, there will be training and improvement of power generation systems using solar cells and solar home project development. Also, knowledge and understanding of local communities will be created so that the application of renewable energy would be sustainable.

 

          Once the project implementation is completed, the share of households with access to electricity in Mae Chan sub-district,Umphang district, Tak province, will increase from 20% to 50%. All of the electricity supply in the area will be generated from renewable energy; almost all health centers, infant centers and schools will have access to electricity. Furthermore, the “Umphang – Energy Sufficiency City” project will contribute to carbon dioxide emission reduction by more than 1,800 tons per year.

Achievement Project  

1. Installed Photovoltaic System with the capacity of 368 Watt and 370 Watt have been installed at joint station of soldiers and border petrol and health service center of Ma-O-Kho village.

 

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