Fang Geothermal Power Plant
The Fang Geothermal Power Plant is located at Mon Pin in the Fang District of Chiang Mai Province. To reach the site, one must travel from Chiang Mai, 150 km. on Chiang Mai-Fang Highway No.107 through a mountainous area, then turn left heading west on a side road for 10 km. The power plant is located in an area abounding with hot springs and hot pools.
Survey
To determine the potential of geothermal energy resources, surveys at San Kampaeng and at
Fang, Chiang Mai province have been in progress since 1978; these surveys being made by the
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) in cooperation with the Department of Mineral
Resources (DMR) and Chiang Mai University (CMU).
From the initial surveys at Fang, it was determined that there was a sufficient potential to justify
the installation of a pilot geothermal power plant. Studies were therefore commenced in 1981, in
collaboration with the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), formerly known
of French Agency fo Energy Management (AFME), of France, to determine the size and type of
powerplant that should be developed. This resuted in selection of a 300 kW binary cycle power plant for
shallow reservoir utilization.
Installation
Installation of this plant commenced in January 1989, with commissioning during December 1989.
This is the first geothermal power plant in Thailand and the first binary cycle geothermal plant in SouthEast
Asia.