The above headline has nothing to do with the classic Pink Floyd track released in 1968. It has everything to do with balancing my column in the previous issue about the need for Samui to develop its oil and gas reserves. This column will concentrate on alternatives sources of green energy that can very easily be developed on Samui because of its favorable weather and climate patterns. In other words, Samui is a dream location for a 100-percent renewable energy strategy – just imagine, readers, the first place in the world to be completely energy-efficient – but, is this pie-in-the-sky thinking or is it achievable? Yes it is, but only political will and a real desire to make a difference can change the world and Samui.

The primary consideration for generating power is the raw materials needed to make it happen. Globally, we use the following raw materials: fossil fuels, nuclear, coal, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar panels, wind turbines and tidal differentials. All of these methods would be considered clean and green; only two would be well suited to Samui: wind turbines and solar panels.

Let’s focus first on wind turbines. Each wind turbine costs around $6 million and produces around 2.75 megawatts of power, enough to power 1,500 homes (6,000 people).

Samui’s average population, including tourists, is 150,000, which equates to 25 megawatts, with an additional 25 megawatts for small businesses and industry and 10 megawatts as redundancy in case of higher-than-expected demand.

The cost of powering up exclusively through wind would be approximately $50 million plus an additional 20 percent per year for operational and maintenance costs. The cost of a kilowatt per hour of generation is around 5 cents.

The second and more desirable option is the use of solar power, photovoltaic cells, which were once the only method of power generation. This has been overtaken by solar thermal power, so I will focus on this.

The raw material is the sun which, to my knowledge, has no politicians or accountants; however, these pesky individuals will find a way to impose a tax on the sun’s rays.
The 10 facts that the readers need to know about solar power are as follows:

1. Solar thermal power plants are a lot like conventional power plants, with one major difference – they harness the power of the sun, which produces steam or hot gas to drive the turbines.
2. A solar thermal power plant built on about 1 percent of the surface of the Sahara Desert would be sufficient to satisfy the entire world’s electricity demand.
3. Solar thermal power plants reduce air pollution: The solar energy falling on an area the size of a basketball court is equivalent to 650 barrels of oil a year.
4. Solar thermal power is reliable and available when needed most. During peak-demand hours, there is no need to fear that electricity would be cut off at night because of lack of sunlight. This energy can be stored. If, as expected, Samui does produce gas offshore, this gas, which is very often flared by the oil companies, can be used as a backup to keep the turbines running 24/7/365.
5. Solar thermal power plants can be built relatively quickly compared with nuclear or coal-fired plants. Most of the support equipment, materials and technology are very near to becoming an off-the-shelf industry – engineering design drawings can be standardized with only local conditions incorporated.
6. Solar thermal power plants are large, but relative to other types of power plants, they’re space-efficient.  Remember, the footprint of a coal-fired power station does not end at the power station – the coal has to be mined, and as for hydroelectric plants it displaces people and really does alter the environment. Just check out the Three Gorges Dam Project in China where 2 million people had to be displaced.
7. Solar thermal power plants create permanent jobs and are good for the local economy and will lead to the creation of an elite technology base that could then be exported worldwide.
8. Solar thermal plants produce electricity whose current and future costs are known with certainty, whereas fluctuations in oil and gas prices are more or less redundant.
9. Solar thermal power can be cheaper than power from fossil fuels when all cost externalities are considered (and even when they’re not). I can see the cost of a per-kilowatt hour dropping to under 6 cents within the next two to three years – very soon solar power will be competitive against all other forms of power generation.
10. Finally, have you ever wondered why the likes of BP and Shell are investing so heavily in solar technology? Just look up their respective websites, they know the game is up – no more petrol pumps – just plug and drive. Utopia indeed.
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