Solar Cell System Technology
The solar cell system has been dramatically deployed in Thailand, including solar battery
charging station (SBSC), solar system for IT system, stand alone PV systems, solar home
systems (SHS), PV grid connected systems in forms of rooftop building integrated PV systems
and PV power plants. According to the IEA-PVPS report, solar systems can be divided into
4 groups, namely off-grid domestic systems, off-grid non-domestic systems, on-grid
distributed systems, and on-grid centralized systems.
Considering the power producing technologies with solar cell, solar system technology
in Thailand in the past focused on off-grid technologies. The main equipment for the solar
systems (apart from PV) consists of battery charge controller, maximum power point tracking
charge controller (MPPT), and stand-alone inverter. Later on, hybrid electricity-generating
systems were developed, alongside mini grid systems and inter-system communication for
PV systems located in remote areas.
Now with a more clear policy on electricity purchasing from solar systems, there is an
increase of development and deployment of grid-connected inverters, consisting of inverters
for small distributed generation (DG) systems with capacity from lower than 5kVA up to 30kVA,
and those for centralized systems or PV power plants with the capacity from 100 kVA to MVA.
Thai entrepreneurs are now able to develop more advanced products. But further
development is still required in terms of efficiency, size, and longevity, as well as systems
to prevent affected grid distribution, and a study to reduce the impacts on stability and
security of the grid system. Moreover, there should also be a development of energy storage
technology for power generation, as well as PV Digital Surface Models (DSM).