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A river in the mist: River Pai provides an important resource for micro-hydro power development in Mae Hong Son |
Major Renewable Energy Project to be Launched in Mae Hong Son
27 December 2007 – A four-year project to promote the widespread adoption of grid-connected renewable energy in rural areas of Mae Hong Son province has been approved by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) council, with a budget of approximately US$3 million.
UNDP Resident Representative Gwi-Yeop Son met with Mae Hong Son Governor Thongchai Wongrienthong on 27 December to congratulate him on the approval of the project and to discuss how it could promote sustainable energy use in the province, one of Thailand’s poorest.
The project will begin in early January 2008 with an exhibition to promote knowledge about renewable energy among young people. UNDP and its implementing partners, the Thailand Environment Institute and the provincial working group will organise a workshop later in the month to identify renewable energy options and projects sites.
The project, which is part of a wider effort on climate change mitigation in Thailand, is also being supported by the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.
“It is important that this project has a built-in mechanism to ensure a continuing partnership, which is vital to the sustainability of renewable energy initiatives,” said Ms. Son.
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For more information, please contact:
Nick Keyes:
nicholas.keyes@undp.org; UNDP Thailand; 02 288 1814; (Mobile) 085 115
7236
Punnipa Ruangtorsak: punnipa.ruangtorsak@undp.org; UNDP Thailand;
02 288 2130; (Mobile) 081 398 6064
