About Us

     We are a group of IMBA students, Thammasat Business School from Thammasat University, Thailand which believes that our effort can impact many the Thai people who has an effect on lacking of electricity in Northern region of Thailand

     This project is a part of Macro Environments in the Global Economy Course (GI630) as the course description as belowed:

     "This course provides an introduction to a variety of key issues confronting managers in the age of globalization. The ultimate goal of the course is to enable students to broaden their outlooks on the political, economic, technological, and social context of international business. The objectives of the course include: the analysis of the more complex environment of business operations; the use of conceptual and analytical tools related to international business operations; the awareness of major international business issues; the broad understanding of current international business operations; and the analysis of trends in international business, Such the liberalization of trade includes the WTO, Regional Economics Integration, and the role of the International Monetary Fund."

Contact Us

Email: th.microhydropower@gmail.com

Follow us on Twitter: @th_microhydro

Click "Like" in Facebook Fanpage: Micro Hydropower in Thailand

Our Team Members

                       Earth              Einar             Gluay             Mint                Nui

About the project.

     

     We are interesting in micro hydropower as a renewable, eco-friendly source of energy. This project of Micro Hydropower in the North of Thailand is part of our study in "Macro Environment in the Global Economy" course.

     The objectives of this project are to 

  1) be a coordinator between investors who would like to make a contribution to the community, governmental organizations who have expertise and authority, and local people who have no access to electricity, to construct micro hydropower plants in off-grid areas in the north of Thailand; and 

  2) provide information about micro hydropower in the context of Thailand.

In this blog, we share with you information and knowledge about micro hydropower. We have useful and interesting statistics information for you to download. Also, we provide links to a lot of energy and environmental-relate websites as well as video clips and news.

     All contents and materials appear on this website is intended for educational purpose only.

Our business Model

After we get a fund to run the project,

1. we will use the fund to build a micro hydropower plant.
2. Then, the micro hydropower plant will generate electricity, and we as part of the community electricity committee will sell electricity to the local people, and
3. we will get the revenue in return.
4. We will use some of this revenue to pay the maintain cost of the micro hydropower plant,
5. and some to donate to the local school and community to use to improve local public services in order to better the living quality of people in the community.
6. For the investors, they will get carbon credits in return for their contribution to the project.

PESTL(E) Analysis

Environment Factors

      The use of natural energy sources to provide electricity is rapidly increasing in popularity among home owners. The use of more natural and renewable energy sources is needed to take the burden off our current dependency on fossil fuels. The high levels of fossil fuels we burn each and every day are contributing to climate change and the polluting of the air and surrounding environments.

      From our research, We found that  petrochemical and electricity power plant mostly release carbon dioxide.  We can attempt to save the earth from devastation by making the switch to natural and renewable energy sources which is a large step forward in the fight against climate change, and the fight for a cleaner environment. There are many different natural and renewable energy sources such as the sun, wind, tides, and water. Each country chooses the alternatives depended on country’s topography. In North of Thailand, their geographic has waterfall  and mountains. People still use waterfall for daily usage and cannot be accessed to electricity.  Hydro power is the most suitable source for helping the north people. It only takes a small amount of flow (as little as two gallons per minute) or a drop as low as two feet to generate electricity with micro hydro. Electricity can be delivered as far as a mile away to the location where it is being used. Hydro produces a continuous supply of electrical energy in comparison to other small-scale renewable technologies.

      Micro hydropower is considered to function as a ‘run-of-river’ system, meaning that the water passing through the generator is directed back into the stream with relatively little impact on the surrounding ecology.

      The ecological impact of small-scale hydro is minimal; however the low-level environmental effects must be taken into consideration before construction begins. Stream water will be diverted away from a portion of the stream, and proper caution must be exercised to ensure there will be no damaging impact on the local ecology or civil infrastructure.
      Energy output is dependant on two major factors: the stream flow (how much water runs through the system) and drop (or head), which is the vertical distance the water will fall through the water turbine.

      Careful design is required to ensure the system has a minimal impact on the local ecology. A small amount of energy compromise may result, but this will ensure that the project does not have an effect on local fish stocks. The Environment Agency requires that stream levels must be maintained at a certain level in order to sustain the life within. Since there is no loss of water in the generation process, these requirements can easily be met.

PEST(L)E Analysis

Legal factors

      For constructing micro hydropower plant in Thailand, compliance with the laws and regulations is the must, but they should not be an obstacle to the project. However, an application for the construction to the local administration can take different length of time depending on each local administration. Also, laws and regulations concerning a construction of a micro hydropower plant are varied from project to project depending on the objective and location of the project.

      Generally, a commercial, renewable energy generator including a micro hydropower plant that is estimated to have a capacity to generate electricity less than 1 mega watt will be subject to the Very Small Power Producer(VSPP) regulations. However, for a non-commercial electricity generating project, it is not required to comply with the regulations.

      Also, for any project located in a national park or preserved area, it is subjected to ask permission from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (www.dnp.go.th) to build a micro hydropower plant prior to the construction as some areas might be more sensitive, stricter and more vital than the other, and the department may not allow the construction of any kind.

      For regulations related to the impact of the micro hydropower plant on the environment around the power plant, according to the regulations of the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (www.dede.go.th) , a power plant that generates electricity less than 10 mega watt is not required to do the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

      Public hearing is not required by law, but it is usually considered necessary to see if the need for a power plant exists in the area or not.

PES(T)LE Analysis

Technologial factors

      Micro hydropower is a technical production process where mostly production happens without much human involvement. The technology is well known, and several producers have products like small turbines, pipes, generators etc. The chance of this technology becoming obsolete is also small, since it’s already so developed. That means there is little risk when it comes to the technology for producing micro hydropower. For more information about how this works, press here.

      In Thailand there are already producers that know this technology, and the government also employs several technicians in the hydropower production throughout the country. Local knowledge might be small, and labor might have to be found elsewhere in the country. Training locals is a possibility for getting the manpower to operate the production sites. R&D investments are not too high in renewable energy has not been high in Thailand, but cooperation with a foreign investor might still be well accepted. An technology index can be found here.(Thailand placed as nr 41.)

      The technology is environmentally friendly, and has a very small impact on the surrounding ecology. The biggest risk comes from disturbing the life in the river around the area where the turbine is placed.

PE(S)TLE Analysis

Social Factor

Stakeholders

      There are many stakeholders who will benefit from this project. The stakeholders can involve in many ways such as financing, equipment and technology.

• Central Government – With the support from Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, Ministry of Energy who encourage and give out many policies for sustainable energy. This project will reduce the nation’s emission and also reduce the imported fuel to generate electricity.
• Local Government – With the authority to develop the local area with government’s budget and also permission of them will help the project to be successful.
• Local People – With the mission to provide electricity to every area especially to the area that electricity polls are not reachable so they can have a chance to have education, news and more productivity on agriculture and handcraft.
• NGOs – Source of fund and keep an eye on impact on environment and social.
• Bank – As an investment or giving a credit part.
• Universities and colleges – with the knowhow of the students and professors in the college that can provide the technology for turbine. This is win-win situation between both sides, the students have a reality project and our project can get the cheap and developed equipment.
• VSPP. SPP. IPP. – in this case is us but we are smaller
• The investors or firm who interest in CSR program – With the new corporate strategy trends, CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility is one tool that firms put the money into the projects which give back to the nature, people and environment. Our project is one kind of Social venture program which these firms can finance and use that amount of money to reduce the tax, according to the government’s policy which encourage producing the alternative energy.

Sustainability

      Micro hydro appears to exhibit characteristics that indicate: ‘it is easier to make the profitable social, than to make the social profitable’!  In planning micro hydro investments it appears important to consider means of using the plant to secure livelihoods at an early stage, and to then see how the impact can be spread to marginalized people and to social activities such as lighting in health centres, schools, etc.

      According to The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), for which UNESCO is the lead agency, seeks to integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning, in order to address the social, economic, cultural and environmental problems we face in the 21st century.

      Our Micro Hydro Power Project is a small tool but sustainably impact the people’s life and environment.

Just Distribution

      With the purpose of Distance Learning Foundation for the distance learning via Satellite that want to provide the free education to every Thai students to have the good quality of education fairly. But without the electricity, no TV or communication that can support the distance learning. Moreover the equally education gives a chance to people uphill to have more skills, more knowledge to develop the living to have a better life.

      Though there are many stakeholders involved in this project but nevertheless, the people who finally can access to the electricity is the one who get the benefit, not the money benefit but it’s a better living.

Efficient Allocation

• Negative externalities

              There might be a environmental cost of the project which are not taken into account. For example, some nature will be destroyed, some trees have to been cut down. Also, the life in the river might be suffered from small damn (fish, scallops etc). Also, the flow of the river will be changed, and this could affect people living close to it. The access to electricity might mean that the village people start producing more waste, which is bad for the environment.

• Positive externalities

              Access to electricity might help improving the standard of health care, public education in a village, which will increase the standard of living. The benefits gained from the project might be higher than the cost of running a power plant for the government. And also the electricity can let the villagers to work with their handcraft in the evening. The productivity for the agricultural product which is the main product of the villagers will be increased.