drake commented : [quote="prommee_NE":3e2x41d1]Talking of Solar Panels....I was chatting to a manufacturer of them (from raw materials) about five years ago on a hospital balcony in Udon Thani. He had moved his company from China to Khon Kaen because the workforce was much better in Thailand (not because it was cheaper!)...and was manufacturing very good solar panels...but only for export. The internal market was using an inferior quality panel manufactured somewhere else closer to BKK. (maybe he would say that but look it up and you will see the differences) The point I would like to make however, is that electricity as it is currently created in Thailand is so much cheaper than solar energy that solar has no chance of entering the main market on the same scale as (say) Germany. There are however other energy alternatives that are better suited to the physical and climatic conditions in Thailand. Biomass is one such resource that has been experimented with on a small scale...but could be used in many villages and make them more self-sufficient...especially if the machinery included the production of compost. There are machines that have been designed in Denmark and possibly elsewhere that are ideal for village use...that are much cheaper than the solar panels provided as Government grants to places without electricity (or were provided in a former pre-coup era)...they rely on ready available current waste products with the addition of a small area of easily grown fuel. It would of course remove a source of income from the Electricity Providers...but would help the village communities and Thailand in general tremendously.[/quote:3e2x41d1] Regarding PV/Solar Electric. The basic technology to manufacture the solar cell is the same as for other semiconductor devices but simpler. IF someone were to start up a fab (semiconductor foundry) then it can be a stepping stone to more complex product(s). As far as I know, there is no semiconductor foundry of any kind in Thailand (someone correct me, please) By any chance you recall the name of this Chinese company in KhonKaen ? Whereas the cost of electricity is a little cheaper in Thailand than in Europe/US, there is a huge amount of government subsidy in PV and non-fossil fuel based energy and hence the popularity there. Where many electricity generating entities in Europe and US are 'for profit' private corporation,in Thiland, EGAT would be very happy to lose a few customers because they are quite overloaded the way it is. My real interest on the topic isn't about electric power generation but rather getting Thailand it's own semiconductor manufacturing capability and PV cell foundry is a good stepping stone. Biomass, that's a different animal. Depending on what it is, one either burn it directly in a high temperature furnace or convert it in to some other fuel (eg. methanol, ethanol, methane, bio-diesel) Except for bio-diesel, the process is a little more complicated/tedious and not that suitable for deployment in small ville. There is no single ideal solution for localized renewable electric generation, every location is unique and the solution must be optimized for each location.

Christian9 commented : [quote="drake":av3lyv6h][quote="prommee_NE":av3lyv6h][u:av3lyv6h]Talking of [url=http://www.shinesolar.net:av3lyv6h][color=#000000:av3lyv6h]solar panel[/color:av3lyv6h][/url:av3lyv6h]....I was chatting to a manufacturer of them (from raw materials) about five years ago on a hospital balcony in Udon Thani. He had moved his company from China to Khon Kaen because the workforce was much better in Thailand (not because it was cheaper!)...and was manufacturing very good solar panels...but only for export. The internal market was using an inferior quality panel manufactured somewhere else closer to BKK. (maybe he would say that but look it up and you will see the differences) The point I would like to make however, is that electricity as it is currently created in Thailand is so much cheaper than solar energy that solar has no chance of entering the main market on the same scale as (say) Germany. There are however other energy alternatives that are better suited to the physical and climatic conditions in Thailand. Biomass is one such resource that has been experimented with on a small scale...but could be used in many villages and make them more self-sufficient...especially if the machinery included the production of compost. There are machines that have been designed in Denmark and possibly elsewhere that are ideal for village use...that are much cheaper than the solar panels provided as Government grants to places without electricity (or were provided in a former pre-coup era)...they rely on ready available current waste products with the addition of a small area of easily grown fuel. It would of course remove a source of income from the Electricity Providers...but would help the village communities and Thailand in general tremendously.[/quote:av3lyv6h] Regarding PV/Solar Electric. The basic technology to manufacture the solar cell is the same as for other semiconductor devices but simpler. IF someone were to start up a fab (semiconductor foundry) then it can be a stepping stone to more complex product(s). As far as I know, there is no semiconductor foundry of any kind in Thailand (someone correct me, please) By any chance you recall the name of this Chinese company in KhonKaen ? Whereas the cost of electricity is a little cheaper in Thailand than in Europe/US, there is a huge amount of government subsidy in PV and non-fossil fuel based energy and hence the popularity there. Where many electricity generating entities in Europe and US are 'for profit' private corporation,in Thiland, EGAT would be very happy to lose a few customers because they are quite overloaded the way it is. My real interest on the topic isn't about electric power generation but rather getting Thailand it's own semiconductor manufacturing capability and PV cell foundry is a good stepping stone. Biomass, that's a different animal. Depending on what it is, one either burn it directly in a high temperature furnace or convert it in to some other fuel (eg. methanol, ethanol, methane, bio-diesel) Except for bio-diesel, the process is a little more complicated/tedious and not that suitable for deployment in small ville. There is no single ideal solution for localized renewable electric generation, every location is unique and the solution must be optimized for each location.[/u:av3lyv6h] [/quote:av3lyv6h] Yes there is no other way of generating clean and renewable electricity.. I have got solar panels for my home roof and got good some results.

Anonymous commented : You mention Not Turning to Thailand and a two year period? Don't understand the two year period? He is now fearful of returning to Thailand, as she insists, although she is seeming to agree to an annulment. Her father is a high police official in a large city. My son feels that if they are in collusion, and only after money, he might just "disappear" over there---or have weed planted on him and have to pay his way out of jail. Is there any way to get an annulment w/o returning? The marriage is registered in Bangkok, but she insists it can be annulled in her home of Khon Kaen city? She refuses to meet him anywhere else as he has suggested. If he disappears, or gets run off the road, she will still own half of his assets, right? Even though they have only spent a few hours together after the marriage and haven't seen each other since? Worries about this girl are driving him crazy. At first her phone calls and emails were affectionate. Then in the spring she became a vixen demanding more and more money and threatening to go to Pattya if he continued to "starve" her. She is in the exact same position as before the marriage--no extra expenses--she is paid for taking care of her sister's child--an eight year old nephew--at 800 Bahts a month...she lives at home (and does most of the work for her father and mother). Do girls usually insist on being supported Before they arrive in America on visa. He had wanted a fiancee visa, but was told by the sister and husband that this was impossible because of her age---26---and because her job as a family nanny---previously she worked in a karoke bar and was supposedly going to accounting school...for the year when she and my son corresponded. My son thought, and still occasionally thinks that maybe, there is a translation problem...as now all she talks about is money and his obligations...and that he is selfish for only sending her 2-250 bahts a month...he was saving for wedding, visas, fixing up his house for her, etc. He told them he wasn't a rich farang, just a 20ish architectural draftsman, starting his own business. This whole situation is making him sick---first believing she loves him, then believing she has someone new lined up. Any clues? It was when she started withdrawing money from a bank in Bangkok while claiming she was in Khon Kaen that he demanded answers...she claims the bank is crazy...though they've checked twice, and she claims it was from a Bangkok St in Khon Khan...but when he asked her to withdraw from that account again, she refused. Any hope? His sister who once travelled alone to Thailand recently, had all her money stolen by a man she thought was a Thai friend the first day in the country; then had a marijuana leave planted in her backpack on a train, when she left it to go to the bathroom which a Thai lady warned her about, so she was able to extricate it---and sure enough 15 mintues later a couple police came through asking to check inside luggage. This is a long letter, sorry, but we have no one to turn to. So far no one here knows any Thai law...at the law school...

Anonymous commented : I rashly got a marriage registered to a Thai friend's sister, after a year of emails and a three week family stay in Khon Kaen ten months ago. I was told she couldn't get a fiancee visa as she was only 25, and had only worked as her nephew's nanny and at a karoke bar. She has constantly demanded more and more money from me, pre Visa, until now I think I can't afford her...(was sending 225 a month, plus extras and she started demanding 500 dollars a month...although we've never lived together as man and wife, as I flew back to the US after the wedding. She has finally agreed to a no-contest annulment. However, she insists I return to her town to do it and I suspect mischief will befall me if I return, as her father is in the police. Her emails got very abusive when I wouldn't pay for her family's appliances for their new house where she still lives. Her expenses haven't increased since we married, so I don't know why I should be "supporting" a 26 year old able-bodied woman who claims to have higher education--yes, accounting. My question: Can I have a lawyer or someone take my papers to the divorce office to represent me? I don't want to return to Thailand! I stopped sending any money after she claimed that w/o 500 a month from me, she would starve and be forced to become a bar girl. I suspect a scam. I also expect if I return they will either slam me with huge costs, alimony for a woman I never lived with, or I'll become a "disappeared" or thrown in prison. I desperately want out. I'm already heartsick but don't want to become destitute as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also, can uncontested divorces be down in Khon Kaen? I wanted to return to Bangkok where we married, but she insists that I return to Khon Kaen where her family has a lot of police and legal power. I feel I'm being fleeced (at the time I quit sending money she was also saying without a 8000 dollar wedding ceremony and a one carat diamond ring, and 250 dollars a month for her parents once we were in America, her parents wouldn't agree to let her come to America. (If immigration would even let her in...she seemed nice and loving, but sometimes would withdraw $$ from the account I set up for her from a Bangkok bank, while I was being emailed the same day from Khon Kaen...she claims my bank there is "stupid" but won't do anything to prove there was an error--and continues to claim she has never returned to bangkok since our marriage registration. Help!