Future of Alternative Energy in Thailand
The objective of this paper is to identify the major opportunities and barriers of alternative energy production activities in Thailand, working towards a sustainable future. The paper analyses the historic and current energy consumption patterns and iden
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10.1 Introduction The objective of this paper is to identify the major opportunities and barriers of alternative energy production activities in Thailand, working towards a sustainable future. The paper analyses the historic and current energy consumption patterns and identifies the major energy intensive activities in each sector. Thailand’s recent energy strategies, policies and oil prices have been studied and discussed based on the potential of alternative energy production and technology. The paper describes the key government programs and policies relating to the promotion of alternative energies and presents their major successes and failures. Thailand’s average energy consumption grew at a rate of 5.5 percent per year from 1999 to 2006 and the domestic energy production cannot accommodate the increasing demand of the country (EPPO 2008a). Thailand’s energy production depends largely on imported fossil fuel which represents a considerable financial cost. The world depends largely on conventional fossil fuel resources and will continue to do so for several decades before the coming era of oil depletion. Before this critical point is reached and because of concerns about rising oil prices Thailand is seeking alternative energies and promising technologies. At the moment, conventional fossil fuels are cheaper than several alternative energies. All sizes of industries as well as businesses which have already installed or switched to an increased consumption ratio of renewable energy may have to reconsider their current situation. It is hard to tell how long the oil prices will remain stabile and how long fossil fuel emissions will continue to adversely impact the environment, e.g., CO2 emissions. First, people tend to consume energy more because it is inexpensive. Second, the renewable energy sources are relatively less cost-effective; and their relatively smaller profit margins have prompted potential big commercial dealers of energy to tighten their budgets for sustainable energy programs. Third, the Governments confronting financial and economic crises will tend to limit their expenditures, especially on research and incentive packages. Moreover, the rising cost of capital is making it harder for both consumer and suppliers of alternative energy equipment and services to finance new projects. Funding from banks in many countries has dried up as firms move to conserve capital. However, the government of Thailand continues to subsidize long term alternative energy programs. M. Schmidt et al. (eds.), Implementing Environmental and Resource Management, DOI 10.1007/978-3-540-77568-3_10, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011
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Angkarn Wongdeethai
Despite the rapid growth of energy demand, Thailand’s per capita commercial energy consumption is still very low in comparison with other industrialized countries at an average of 1.27 tons of crude oil equivalent (toe). As a result, the greenhouse gases emission per capita is estimated to be about 5.5 tons of CO2 (Amranand 2008).
10.2 Thailand’s Energy Status
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