Thailand's first wind-powered stations debut in Pattaya

The decision is part of the company's policy to promote the environmentally friendly energy sources under the "Green Net work" concept in order to help reduce global warming.

"Although wind-powered base stations cost more to build than conventional stations, they use nine times less electricity. We are committed to further seeking new sources of natural energy as part of our social responsibility," said AIS president Wichian Mektrakarn.

Earlier, AIS introduced solar cell-powered base stations at the Royal Project in Chiang Mai, where in now has 35.A wind powered station costs around 4 million Baht more than a base station powered by conventional electricity.

A wind turbine can generate a maximum of five kilowatts of electricity per day at a wind speed of six meters a second (21.6 km per hour). The fan has a diameter of 10 meters and the pole from base to fulcrum is 20 meters high.

However, AIS expects the wind station to generate an average of 2.5 kilowatts of output. Approximately 1,000 watts would be transmitted to the national power grid, with the remaining 1,500 watts supplied to the base station.

AIS is also looking to build an additional 10 wind-powered base stations on islands in southern provinces including Surin, Similan and Lipeh islands.