- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload fears
- Paris Olympics sports equipment moves to new homes
- 'Happy' Kinghorn relishing life at Toulouse
- Norris sets Singapore pace as Verstappen only 15th
- 8 dead in Israeli strike, source says Hezbollah commander killed
- Germany to bid to host women's Euro 2029
- Portugal brings deadly forest fires under control
- Postecoglou defends Solanke after slow start to Spurs career
- US nuclear plant Three Mile Island to reopen to power Microsoft
- Arteta urges Arsenal to take next step in Man City showdown
- Stock markets fall after Fed-fuelled rally
- Top Hezbollah commander 'killed' in Israel strike
- Poland charges Russian over attack on Navalny ally: prosecutors
- Man City have rest 'advantage' in Arsenal showdown: Guardiola
- Maresca has 'no doubt' in Jackson as Chelsea's number nine
- EU chief announces 35 bn euro loan plan for Ukraine before winter
- From TikTok to Hollywood, the irresistible rise of Italy's Khaby Lame
- Verstappen punished for swearing in Singapore press conference
- Sri Lanka lead by 202 in first New Zealand Test
- Brook 'not too fussed' by England's batting in heavy Australia loss
- India's Ashwin 'happy' to embrace pressure
- A modern 'Trojan Horse': two days of mayhem in Lebanon
- Third of Burundi mpox cases in children under five: UN
- Man Utd appoint Foster + Partners to develop Old Trafford 'masterplan'
- Israel-Hezbollah exchanges intensify on Lebanon border
- French mayor sorry for 'no one died' remark over mass rape trial
- Mohamed Al-Fayed, outsider shunned by British high society
- Lawyers say 'monster' late Harrods owner abused dozens of women
- India in box seat after Bumrah takes four against Bangladesh
- Taiwan retains death penalty but limits use to 'exceptional' cases
- Ferrari's Leclerc sets early pace in Singapore ahead of Norris
- 10 years into Huthi rule, some Yemenis count the cost
- France poised to finally get new govt
- Kompany, Alonso call for action on player workload amid strike talks
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson doubtful for Bournemouth clash
- Bumrah takes four as India bowl out Bangladesh for 149
- Sri Lanka 134-1 to take upper hand in first New Zealand Test
- Bayern's Kompany calls for game cap for players amid strike talks
- Christie's expands Hong Kong footprint in hope of art market 'pickup'
- Sultry screen legend Sophia Loren turns 90
- Cambodian opposition figure in court on incitement charge
- Bumrah takes three wickets to have Bangladesh in trouble at 112-8
- Kimchi threat as heatwave drives up South Korea cabbage prices
- UK economic data delivers fresh blow to new govt
- China to 'gradually resume' seafood imports from Japan after Fukushima ban
- India minister blames dam release for flooding
- O'Rourke strikes early for Kiwis as Sri Lanka trail by three
- Deep takes two as Bangladesh totter in reply to India's 376
- Israel pounds Lebanon's Hezbollah after device blasts
- Revolution or mirage? Controversy surrounds new Alzheimer's drugs
Thailand makes green push with floating hydro-solar power project
A vast array of solar panels floats on the shimmering waters of a reservoir in northeast Thailand, symbolising the kingdom's drive towards clean energy as it seeks carbon neutrality by 2050.
The immense installation, covering 720,000 square metres of water surface, is a hybrid system that converts sunlight to electricity by day and generates hydropower at night.
Touted by the authorities as the "world's largest floating hydro-solar farm", the Sirindhorn dam project in the northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani is the first of 15 such farms Thailand plans to build by 2037.
The kingdom is stepping up efforts to wean itself off fossil fuels, and at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow last year, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha set the target of carbon neutrality by 2050 followed by a net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2065.
The Sirindhorn dam farm -- which began operations last October -- has more than 144,000 solar cells, covering the same area as 70 football pitches, and can generate 45 MW of electricity.
"We can claim that through 45 megawatts combined with hydropower and energy management system for solar and hydro powers, this is the first and biggest project in the world," Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) deputy governor Prasertsak Cherngchawano told AFP.
The hybrid energy project aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 47,000 tonnes per year and to support Thailand's push toward generating 30 percent of its energy from renewables by 2037, according to EGAT.
- Green shift -
But hitting these targets will require a major revamp of power generation.
Thailand still relies heavily on fossil fuel, with 55 percent of power derived from natural gas as of October last year, compared with 11 percent from renewables and hydropower, according to the Energy Policy and Planning Office, a department of the ministry of energy.
EGAT plans to gradually install floating hydro-solar farms in 15 more dams across Thailand by 2037, with a total power generation capacity of 2,725 MW.
The $35 million Sirindhorn project took nearly two years to build -- including Covid-19 hold-ups caused by delays to solar panel deliveries and technicians falling sick.
Most of the electricity generated by the floating hydro-solar farm goes to the provincial electricity authority, which distributes power to homes and businesses in provinces in the lower northeastern region of Thailand.
- Tourism potential -
As well as generating power, officials hope the giant solar farm will also prove a draw for tourists.
A 415-metre (1,360-foot) long "Nature Walkway" shaped like a sunray has been installed to give panoramic views of the reservoir and floating solar cells.
"When I learned that this dam has the world's biggest hydro-solar farm, I knew it's worth seeing with my own eyes," tourist Duangrat Meesit, 46, told AFP.
Some locals have reservations about the floating hydro-solar farm, with fishermen complaining they have been forced to change where they cast their nets.
"The number of fish caught has reduced, so we have less income," village headman Thongphon Mobmai, 64, told AFP.
"But locals have to accept this mandate for community development envisioned by the state."
But the electricity generating authority insists the project will not affect agriculture, fishing or other community activities.
"We've used only 0.2 to 0.3 percent of the dam's surface area. People can make use of lands for agriculture, residency, and other purposes," said EGAT's Prasertsak.
H.Seidel--BTB