Questions/Answers

The objectives of the project were to provide people the electricity with low-cost solar energy as soon as possible, people able to handle household electricity by themselves, suitability for context of areas where electricity expansion was impossible, and suitability for the area with solar radiation intensity throughout the year. The implementation result of the project was the creation a mechanism for the public sector-private sector-people participation allowing people to share their opinions, make decisions, join in implementation and monitoring and evaluation. Additionally, it also established sustainability by having people rely on themselves by enhancing knowledge on solar energy that could generate electricity for household use, establishing a self-reliant alternative energy learning center to be a learning resource for the community, creating community technicians to help people, subscribing learning center members, promoting revolving capital for purchasing solar energy electricity generating equipment. The regulations were determined for governing the learning center for sustainability, and the low cost solar energy electricity generating equipment were provided, resulting in sustainability of resolution of people’s problems.

The performance results aligned with the third category: development of efficiency and accountability in governmental organizations. That is, the public problem was efficiently solved, which is the responsibility of the Nong ta tam SAO by setting the policy on creating solar energy system for generating electricity for the people. The people participation mechanism was created, including provision of opinions, planning, making decision, implementing, and evaluating the project for transparency, encouraging staff to access the public area and solve problems with the people participation.

Self-reliant solar energy electricity community aligned with the goal of the 7th Sustainable Development Agenda, Indicator 1, ensuring that everyone had access to modern, reliable, and sustainable energy service. The people of 400 households, or 100%, in Moo 8, Ban Wang Won, who formerly had no chance to use electricity, could sustainably generate electricity for using in their households.

The operation of self-reliant solar energy electricity community was important because it demonstrated the efficiency and responsibility to greatly solve the problem for 400 underprivileged people, or 100%, in Moo 8 Ban Wang Won, Nong ta tam Subdistrict, to access to electricity services, by using solar energy electricity generating system to solve the problems of the community effectively. The operation contributed to the administration of the Nong ta tam SAO in creating mechanism for the participation of people, private and public sectors in implementing the project. Knowledge provision, budget support, and helping people without ability to use electricity to sustainably and efficiently have electricity for using contributed to the set objective achievement. In addition, in order to ensure transparency, the public participation in monitoring and evaluating every year was created. Nong ta tam SAO also created a public relation channels to allow people to access information easily and thoroughly, such as the application line, appointment of public relation personnel in every village zone to disseminating the public information.

Self-reliant solar energy electricity community by using “Pracharat” participation process had applied solar energy electricity generating system in generating household electricity for people. In Thailand, the solar radiation intensity is in the range of 17-20 MJ/m2 -day, and in the Nong ta tam subdistrict area, the average solar radiation intensity is 18.27 MJ / m2 –day, which is proper for solar energy electricity generating system.

The innovation of self-reliant solar energy electricity community is an innovation initiated since 2015 by using solar energy for generating electricity. It was created from the responsibility to solve the people’s problems effectively, by encouraging people to mobilize the operation by themselves to achieve sustainability, including participation in opinion sharing, making decisions, project implementation, monitor and evaluation, to achieve transparency, with the support of Nong ta tam SAO and the private sector.

There was the knowledge transfer to other organizations as follows: Khao Chao SAO, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, where the solar energy electricity generating system was applied for using in the office, heads of governmental departments in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, Pran Buri SAO, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, Phetchaburi Provincial Energy Office, Surin Provincial Energy Office, Hui Ket SAO, Phichit Province, Suk Paiboon SAO, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nongtatam School, etc., totaling the number of 465 people. In addition, other organizations around the world with the same problem on electricity shortage can applied this resolution in every area.

The self-reliant solar energy electricity community had spent resources in form of budget for THB 38,223 to enhance both theoretical and practical knowledge. There is a revolving fund for people to purchase solar energy electricity generating equipment, supported by government budget and public fund raising for THB 105,350. The equipment were also supported by the private sector, and the community also acted as a supplier to use solar energy to generate electricity. The participants in the operation included the personnel from the people, public, and private sectors.

Social dimension: There was a public group to set up a self-reliant alternative energy learning center committees to be a learning center for alternative energy use at the subdistrict and village levels by setting regulations for sustainability in managing the Learning center. And, in Ban Nong ta tam School, there is a learning center for the youth in Kindergarten to Grade 9 level. The community technicians were trained to help people in looking after and fixing the solar energy system equipment to achieve sustainability as a self-reliant solar community. Additionally, there was also an integrated organization consisting of both public and private sectors supporting the budget, body of knowledge, technology, and materials and equipment. Economic dimension: The revolving fund was established for low-income people able to access to sources of funds to purchase cheap solar energy electricity generating equipment, and have electricity available immediately. Environmental dimension: The electricity from solar energy is sustainably used. The amount of fuel used in household electricity generation reduces, reducing CO2, and protecting the environment. There is management of batteries used in solar energy system in order not to affect the environment.

Yes

There is an internal assessment of performance of Nong ta tam SAO by collecting data in accordance with the indicators by the project monitoring and evaluation committee to achieve the objectives. There is also an external assessment by outside agency, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, by evaluating according to the assessment criteria of local administrative organization in the aspect of good governance on the topic of local innovation assessment in the fiscal year 2018.

The indicators of internal organization include the percentage of people using household electricity from solar energy, training community technicians for helping people, establishment of learning center, and establishment of a revolving fund. The indicators of external organization include the alignment of the innovation with the existing problems and / or the community context, having a concrete objectives in the implementation, people participation, cooperation in the form of network to carry out local innovation, outputs or products from local innovation projects, outcomes or impacts of innovation projects on the development of society, economy or people’s quality of life.

The outcome is 100 percent of people having household electricity generated by solar energy. There are 5 community technicians per 100 people in attendance. There are 3 learning centers within the subdistrict, with a revolving fund providing equal access to public resource. The people have got the knowledge of solar energy in household electricity generation, along with sustainable environmental sustainability, CO2 reduction. The outcome of the evaluation of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University is at an excellent level, details as in the attached documents.

Nong ta tam SAO cooperating with people has set the policy on the use of solar energy for household electricity generation, establishing mechanisms for people participation in project development, encouraging participation mechanism among public sector, private sector, and people, building personnel’s leadership to get a vision for problem solving, creating organizational culture in teamwork between staff and the people to solve problems. The officials and people can use technology to solve the power shortage problem. Prachuap Khiri Khan Provincial Energy Office transferred knowledge and supported technology. Ban Nongtatam School established a renewable energy learning center at the school level. Forest Protection and Environment Conservation Village Project, Phetchaburi Province, supported revolving fund. Ruam Jai Tam Roi Por Network Learning Center, Phetchaburi Province transferred knowledge. Voice TV Co., Ltd. and Wisetek Solutions (Thailand) Co., Ltd. supported battery used in solar cell system. The people administrate the learning center, take care of self-reliant alternative energy learning center at the subdistrict and village level, training community technicians to be responsible for fixing the solar cell system, Fundraising for a revolving fund, being members of the committee to monitor and evaluate the project to ensure transparency once a year.

The lessons learned are that the community participation helps to reflect problems and lead to solutions according to the needs, that proactive management reveals the real problem, that, though the personnel are in any divisions, continuous training and development will provide the personnel a vision to solve the problem, able to work beyond potential tasks, that organizational culture in the aspect of teamwork is important, and that “Pracharat” participation can result in maximum organizational performance achievement.