Solar powered Thai tuk-tuks to launch

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Solar powered Thai tuk-tuks to launch 
Bangkok Post: 4 Jun 2010
Sunny side up
Hybrid tuk-tuk with solar panels ready for launch.

It looks like any one of thousands of tuk-tuks that rattle up and down Bangkok's side streets, all garish colours, bright chrome pipes and faux leather seats. Until the driver turns the key, that is.

Instead of a puff of oily black smoke and the growl that gives the three-wheeled vehicle its name, there is only silence.

Arun Sawasdi, which means good morning, is the brainchild of Air Marshal Morakot Charnsomruad, chairman of Clean Fuel Energy Enterprise Co Ltd (C-FEE). The vehicle uses solar power and a battery instead of petrol or gas.

"When I go to other countries I always ask foreigners about the first thing they do when they come to Thailand. They say they ride tuk-tuks because it is part of the image of Bangkok. But they complain about the smell and pollution,'' said AM Morakot, who owns a company making electric-powered vehicles.

Although the vehicle has solar panels installed on the roof to store power, batteries can also be charged to provide an alternative source of energy.

With a battery charged for three to four hours, which costs 20 baht, the tuk-tuk can be used for a whole day or night for a distance of up to 60 kilometres. Use of solar panels for some of the day halves that cost.

Sponsored partly by the National Research Council of Thailand, the whole project cost 3-4 million baht for research and development.

Arun Sawasdi has been developed as a prototype for 40 tuk-tuks distributed in Thailand and worldwide.
"We have an order for 10 tuk-tuks from New Zealand to be handled in the next two months. We have exported to England, the United States and the Netherlands already,'' said AM Morakot. ``India is considering buying it for factory production.''

The production cost of a solar-power tuk-tuk is 200,000 baht and the selling price is 280,000 baht plus 50,000 baht for the solar cell, while a normal tuk-tuk is priced at 180,000 baht.

Morakot: Government support is key

"It is still costly but if around 50 to 100 of these tuk-tuks come into the market, the cost will lower substantially,'' he said, adding that 20 units were already in resorts and hotels in Thailand.

The idea has been developed for 30 years but never been commercialised, yet AM Morakot remains optimistic, saying government support is the crucial factor.

"I think we [Thailand] can start immediately. Today the government needs something to restore its image, and it could help with subsidies,'' said AM Morakot.

For instance, hotels paying more than 100 hundred million baht in taxes could have the amount lowered to 10 million in exchange for having these tuk-tuks available for tourists, he said.

"If we don't start somewhere it will never happen.''

Currently the vehicles are produced at C-FEE's factory, but AM Morakot is willing to act as a consultant for interested businesses by selling the technology.

Some Thais are used to the bustle and pollution of old tuk-tuks and believe they are part of Thailand's identity, he said. But with alternative energy becoming more important, this vehicle offers a step in the right direction.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/180081/sunny-side-up