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Thailand Rooftop Solar Lags as Gas Imports Strain State Utility: IEEFA

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Thailand's heavy reliance on costly liquefied natural gas imports has strained state utility finances, prompting calls to reform restrictive rooftop solar policies and adopt models similar to Pakistan's rapid clean energy boom, reported Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis on Wednesday.

Natural gas accounts for 66% of Thailand's electricity generation, but dwindling domestic production in the Gulf of Thailand has forced a heavy reliance on volatile liquefied natural gas imports.

This fossil fuel dependence has heavily strained the finances of the state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand which carried over 36 billion baht ($1 billion) in losses from past energy crises by March 2026, it stated.

While Thailand targets 60% renewable energy by 2050 under its latest Power Development Plan 2026, and ground mounted solar has grown to 8 gigawatts, rooftop solar installations lag behind at just 3.6 GW out of 11.8 GW total solar capacity, according to the note.

Rooftop adoption remains severely constrained by high capital costs averaging $936 per kW, nearly 50 percent higher than regional peers, unfavorable net billing incentives with low buyback rates of 2.2 baht per kWh, restrictive capacity quotas, and policy uncertainty, it said.

Drawing lessons from Pakistan's successful model, which deployed 38 GW of solar capacity by eliminating trade barriers and implementing lucrative net metering with payback periods under two years, energy experts recommend structural reforms for Thailand, the agency noted.

Accelerating rooftop deployment requires transitioning from net billing to net metering, raising buyback rates, enhancing tax incentives, and removing strict capacity limits to displace expensive gas-fired generation during peak hours, IEEFA said.

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