Thailand’s residential solar market shifted significantly on September 26, 2026. The National Energy Policy Committee expanded the net billing programme from a 500 MW round into a 10,000 MW People’s Solar programme — roughly one million homes — with a 50,000 baht installation subsidy per household and a 20-year buy-back contract at 2.20 baht per kWh. The approved installer registry that MEA and PEA opened in August and September 2026 is now publishing approved names from October 15, 2026. Programme registration for households is expected to open November 1.

Four weeks away. Whether your business benefits or watches from the sideline depends on what you do before that date.

What Does the People’s Solar Programme Actually Offer?

The People’s Solar programme replaces the 500 MW net billing round that opened in July 2026. The core mechanism is the same — grid-connected residential rooftop solar, buy-back through MEA and PEA — but two parameters changed materially.

The contract length doubled from 10 to 20 years. For a 5 kWp system exporting an average of 2 kWh per day, that is roughly 32,000 baht in export revenue over the 20-year life of the contract — before accounting for the electricity bill savings from self-consumption. Payback calculations that looked marginal at 10 years often become straightforward at 20.

A 50,000 baht installation subsidy is now available per household. The earlier incentive package offered a 200,000 baht tax deduction (introduced March 2026) and the net billing rate. A tax deduction reduces what you owe at filing time — useful, but indirect. The People’s Solar subsidy reduces the customer’s out-of-pocket cost at the point of purchase. Those reach two different audiences.

Key programme parameters:

Target: 10,000 MW nationally (~1 million homes at up to 10 kWp each)
Subsidy: 50,000 baht per household, applied at point of installation
Buy-back rate: 2.20 baht per kWh, fixed for 20 years from commercial operation date
System size: Up to 10 kW per residential meter
Total programme funding: THB 75 billion
Household registration: Expected to open November 1, 2026

What Is the Approved Installer Registry?

MEA and PEA opened registration for rooftop solar contractors between August 1 and September 30, 2026. The document verification process runs through October 30. Approved installer names are published from October 15, 2026.

This registry is not a general quality accreditation — it is a People’s Solar programme requirement. Customers who wish to claim the 50,000 baht subsidy must use a contractor from the approved list. An installation completed by an unregistered business does not qualify for the subsidy, regardless of technical quality.

The practical implications for your business:

If your business is on the approved list, you can take on People’s Solar jobs from November 1. Customers searching for approved installers will find your name on MEA’s or PEA’s published list. In a market where the 50,000 baht subsidy is often the deciding factor, being on this list is the baseline for competing.

If your business is not on the list, you can still install solar and support grid connections — but customers who need the subsidy cannot use you for that purpose. Verify your status when the lists go live on October 15. If your registration is missing, contact MEA or PEA directly; the verification period runs through October 30.

Equipment compliance is also a programme condition. Solar modules, inverters, and related components must meet the IEC standards and Thai Industrial Standards (TIS) specified by MEA and PEA as part of their equipment approval process. Confirm that your current product lineup appears on the approved equipment list before you quote a People’s Solar job. Discovering a non-compliant inverter after installation — when the subsidy documentation is being assembled — creates a problem that is difficult to fix without delaying the customer’s claim.

Why Does This Create a Different Scale of Demand?

Solar installation businesses that have operated through 2025 and 2026 have already seen demand respond to the 200,000 baht tax deduction. The People’s Solar subsidy changes the picture again — and for a different reason.

A direct 50,000 baht reduction at point of sale reaches a segment that a tax deduction does not. Residential solar in Thailand costs roughly 80,000–180,000 baht installed depending on capacity and location. A 50,000 baht subsidy applied upfront reduces the customer’s net cost by 25–60% — a materially different calculation for households that held off because of initial cost, not long-term payback.

Stack the 50,000 baht subsidy with the 200,000 baht tax deduction and a 20-year buy-back contract, and the People’s Solar programme is the strongest residential solar incentive package Thailand has offered. The addressable customer base is substantially larger than it was two years ago, with pent-up demand from the 2024–2025 freeze period adding to it.

How Should You Prepare Operations Before November 1?

The constraint in a demand surge is almost never the number of inquiries you can take. It is the number of jobs you can deliver reliably at the same time.

Survey and quoting pipeline. A People’s Solar job starts with a thorough site survey: roof condition, shading patterns, meter location, existing circuit capacity. A clean survey produces an accurate quote and avoids scope changes at installation. If your current survey capacity can handle 10 jobs per month and you expect 20+ inquiries after November 1, that survey capacity is the first constraint to address — not the number of sales calls. Decide now whether to train a second surveyor, define a tighter survey template, or set honest lead times in your initial customer response.

Commissioning technicians. Every People’s Solar installation ends with a grid connection application requiring documented commissioning. Equipment compliance is a condition of the subsidy claim. Track which technicians are trained on each inverter brand you stock. If you carry one brand and have two commissioning-capable technicians, that is the rate-limiting factor in your delivery pipeline — dispatching an untrained technician to avoid a scheduling delay creates a larger problem than the delay itself.

Document management for subsidy jobs. Subsidy documentation is separate from the standard grid connection paperwork. Each People’s Solar job requires: equipment serial numbers and compliance certification, installer credentials, commissioning date, and site photographs. Collecting these at each job stage — not reconstructing from paper records after the fact — is what separates running five subsidy jobs concurrently from running fifteen.

Multi-stage job tracking. A People’s Solar install moves through survey, quote, contract, equipment order, installation, commissioning, grid connection application, and subsidy claim — each with its own document, deadline, and responsible party. Without job-level stage tracking, the failure modes are predictable: PPA signing windows missed, subsidy documents missing at claim time. OnSiteQ’s scheduling and job management gives each job its own stage checklist and document log so nothing depends on someone’s memory when a deadline approaches.

FAQ

Do I need to be on the MEA/PEA approved list to work on People’s Solar jobs?

Yes, for customers claiming the 50,000 baht installation subsidy. The approved installer list is a programme condition, not a quality recommendation. Customers who need the subsidy to make the system economics work must use a registered contractor. The approved lists are published by MEA and PEA from October 15 — check your status before quoting any People’s Solar job after that date. If your registration is missing or incomplete, contact the relevant utility directly while the verification window is still open.

Can a customer combine the 50,000 baht People’s Solar subsidy with the 200,000 baht tax deduction?

The two incentives have different structures. The People’s Solar subsidy reduces the upfront installation invoice. The income tax deduction is claimed at tax filing based on the system’s installed cost. Whether the deduction applies to the pre-subsidy or post-subsidy cost basis depends on Revenue Department guidance, which had not been formally published at the time of writing. Advise customers to confirm the interaction with their tax advisor before filing — the combination may still be available in some form, but the calculation basis matters.

What happened to the 500 MW net billing round that opened in July?

The National Energy Policy Committee folded the 500 MW round into the People’s Solar programme on September 26, 2026. Applications already accepted under the 500 MW programme remain valid on their original terms — 10-year contract at 2.20 baht per kWh. New residential applications now enter under the People’s Solar framework with the 20-year contract and the 50,000 baht subsidy. If you have customers whose applications were submitted under the earlier round, their terms are unchanged and their applications continue without disruption.

The People’s Solar programme is the largest residential solar policy action Thailand has announced. The approved installer list goes public October 15 and household registration is expected November 1. Whether your business can serve the first wave of People’s Solar customers well depends on the operational preparation you complete in the weeks before that.

People's Solar Programme: What Thai Installers Need to Know