Alternative energy sources sought by Thailand

July 1, 2014 0 By Tami Hood

Alternative Energy - Thailand

NCPO is in search of sustainable energy to ensure sufficient energy supply in the future.

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is seeking to promote the exploration, development and use of renewable and alternative energy sources, as well as encourage the domestic production of these sources, so that Thailand will not be entirely reliant on imported oil and gas as its only sources of fuel in the future.

Energy security is another issue for the country.

According to the head of the NCPO, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, energy security is another issue that Thailand needs to address. Currently, Thailand is heavily dependent on neighboring countries for is fuel imports. The objective of the NCPO is to lower this dependency and conserve limited gas and oil resources.

The country needs to focus on technologies that save energy – technologies that come from renewable sources such as biodiesel, biomass, biogass, ethanol, wind energy and solar energy. Investment policy priority will be given to green technology. By placing greater emphasis on developing domestic renewable sources of power, the hope is that this will help to strengthen energy security.

General Prayuth Chan-ocha said that there is a great need to devise a strategy for energy consumption to ensure that reserves are in place for future use. More specifically, he stressed that immediate action must be taken to encourage the use of alternative energy on a wide scale in every sector.

Thailand needs alternative energy to replace natural gas.

The Ministry of Energy’s stats from 2012 reveal that natural gas made up 67.6% of fuel that was utilized to produce electricity in Thailand. Meanwhile, in that same year, 18.8% was generated from coal, 6.1% came from imports, 4.9% was hydropower, 1.2% was biomass, 1.1% came from bunker oil, and 0.2% was the product of diesel. In the year previous (2011), an estimated 60% of the main energy consumption in the country’s commercial sector came from imported energy, which was primarily oil.

Based on Thailand’s 2012 to 2021, ten-year Alternative Energy Development Plan, in order for the country to achieve its sustainable economic development goal, building energy security is essential and the domestic development of renewable energy is one of the country’s most vital strategies.

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