7 November 2025 – The Thai-German Cooperation on Energy, Mobility and Climate (TGC EMC) project, implemented by GIZ Thailand, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) jointly organised the ‘Bangkok Solar City’ event at Samyan Mitrtown to launch the ‘Solar Rooftop Installation Guidebook’ for residential, business and industrial buildings and the ‘Bangkok Solar City’ storytelling website. This initiative marks an important milestone in creating a knowledge hub for interested citizens. It also helps enhance the understanding and capacity of district office staff, enabling them to serve as advisors who can provide comprehensive guidance on Solar PV Rooftop installations to residents in their areas.

This event featured a panel discussion under the theme ‘Bangkok Solar City – Transformation towards a Clean-Energy Solar City’. Through the topics ‘Powering the City: From Policy to Real-World Efforts to Create a Solar City’ and ‘Digital Clicks to City Power: Digitalization for a Clean-Energy-Powered City’ experts and representatives from governmental organisations, companies, civil society and the general public from the solar energy field shared their perspectives on relevant policy, potential roles and opportunities for solar energy generated by the public to contribute to creating a sustainable future for Bangkok. In addition, the immersive ‘Bangkok Solar City’ exhibition is being held from 7-9 November at the MRT Samyan underground station to reflect the initiative’s background as well as the potential of solar energy in advancing Bangkok’s transition to a sustainable solar metropolis.

The BMA is committed to promoting rooftop solar installations in line with its vision under the Bangkok Master Plan on Climate Change 2021-2030, aiming to transition the city towards achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The BMA and the TGC EMC Renewable Energy Component organised two rounds of stakeholder consultation workshops, on 22 November 2024 and 11 March 2025 respectively, to engage representatives from governmental agencies, businesses and citizens for feedback on the draft versions of the Solar PV Rooftop Installation Guidebook, before revising and officially launching the guidebook on this occasion.

Chadchart Sittipunt, Governor of Bangkok, stated: “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to GIZ, the experts, and all stakeholders who contributed to the development of this guidebook and supported Bangkok in driving the implementation of the Master Plan. I would also like to thank our speakers and all participants for taking the time to join today’s event. I sincerely hope that this guidebook, along with the newly developed website, will be of great benefit to the public and all those interested in installing solar rooftops, as well as to the district office staff who will be able to provide comprehensive, one-stop guidance on solar rooftop installations for residents in their areas. This initiative aims to promote the use of clean energy and drive Bangkok towards becoming a ‘Solar City’, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and progressing towards net-zero emissions in line with the vision of the Bangkok Master Plan and the BMA Net Zero policy.”

Sweta Madhuri Kannan, First Secretary Cultural Affairs and Press at the German Embassy Bangkok, said: “Germany has been a long-standing global partner in renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable urban development. As evident through a large portfolio of bilateral energy initiatives between our countries, Germany remains committed to supporting Thailand’s green transition and the country’s goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This collaboration between the BMA and TGC EMC, a programme funded by Germany’s International Climate Initiative (IKI), demonstrates how knowledge transfer and partnership-based solutions can drive a low-carbon, inclusive future.”

Insa Illgen, TGC EMC Programme Director from GIZ, said: “The moment for the solar transition is now because of a very crucial price drop in solar panel prices; they have become so much more accessible to the public. So, we need to really build on this momentum to make our city net-zero and also to become more independent in our own energy use. For me, solar is basically people’s energy. No other energy sources are as accessible to individuals in a city. We at GIZ are very proud of this collaboration with BMA. But now it is everyone’s time to access these instruments. Now that we have launched the new Solar PV rooftop and the Bangkok Solar City website, this is an invitation for you to reach out to BMA and GIZ in the case you would like any guidance. Our colleagues are by your side, and they will be able to provide further technical support and advice.”.