HYBRID ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE IN VERY SMALL POWER PRODUCERS : A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THREE MICRO-HYDROPOWER PROJECTS IN THAILAND

Abstract

Thailand needs to create the supply to meet an increasing demand of electricity consumption. Renewable sources produced by Very Small Power Producers (VSPP) are a promising scheme that not only would strengthen energy security, but also inform solutions for the problem of sustainability in environmental governance. In the future, community VSPPs will be an important contributing factor for Thailand’s 25% renewable energy (RE) production to be met, but to date this issue has received inadequate attention. A comparative study at the Mae Kam Pong, Mae Jo (Chiang Mai) and Ban Sam Ka (Lampang) Micro Hydro power projects was conducted in order to illustrate multi-partner governance (Hybrid Environmental Governance as referred to in the thesis). These communities’ VSPPs mark a new paradigm of decentralized energy production and environmental governance. This study explored successes and challenges, as well as the opportunity for the project to be replicated to assess the feasibility of a national-scale community VSPP program in the future. To conduct this research, in-depth interviews with key informants from the community, their partners from firms and civil societies as well as other governmental authorities were carried out. This paper argues that the formation of hybrid environmental governance contributed to the success of establishment of community VSPP projects. Moreover, by empowering the community, it introduced the emphasis on the human security aspect within the energy security concept, e.g., local income distribution through self-initiated VSPP projects. The formation of the projects points out dynamics of power relation between the community, private sector, civil society and state actor. Although communities become more empowered by partnering with firms and civil society, the state is still a dominating actor that determines the ability of community actors to participate in VSPPs business. Community VSPP projects faced challenges such as lack of policy support, rigid legal process and lack of transparency during the approval process. The hybrid governance that occurred in the projects is so unique that it is difficult to replicate on a mass scale unless government regulations are amended so that they supports the adoption of the model. And, although the financial sustainability of the project is uncertain, the project highlighted a platform of environmental governance development within the community.