Future of Alternative Energy in Thailand - Implementing Environmental and Resource Management - page 95

able energy, Thailand expect to develop a well-built and strong sustainable energy
structure, adequate to overcome the country's outstanding energy problems.
10.3 Thailand's Alternative Energy Development
At the national level, Thailand possesses abundant biomass and solar resources,
with good potential for wind and hydro-electricity development. There are several
alternative energy measures and incentives given by the government within the
energy sectors of: solar, wind, mini-hydro electricity facilities, biomass, biogas,
municipal solid waste (MSW), ethanol, biodiesel, and natural gas vehicles
(NGV) 1 .
10.3.1 Electricity and Thermal Energy
It is estimated that the potential for renewable resource use for electric power pro-
duction is 4,400 MW - from biomass such as bargasse, paddy husk, woodchips,
and municipal wastes. Furthermore, there is potential to generate another 1,100
MW from biogas received from pig farms and other types of agro-industry such as
corn cob and wastes from palm oil factories. The potential also exists for another
50,000 MW from solar, 1,600 MW from wind, 2,600 ktoe from biofuels (1,500
ktoe from ethanol and 1,100 ktoe from biodiesel), and 8,000 ktoe of thermal en-
ergy production from solar, biomas, biogas, and MSW to be harvested
(DEDE 2008). Targets for renewable energy utilization have been set at 8%; and
for alternative energy utilization at 11.5% by 2011. The target for renewable en-
ergy utilization has been further set at 11.6% in 2016 and 12.2% in 2022. The fu-
ture target for alternative energy utilization is 19.9% in 2016, and 20.4% in 2022
(Pongpirodom 2008) ( Table 10.2 ).
In 2007, the Surayud Chulanond government issued a number of sweeping
changes to the policy to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy, in quick
reaction to rising oil prices and the problem of global warming. There were
amendments for supporting measures for small power projects (SPP) and very
small power projects (VSPP) by putting a higher incentive, namely an 'adder' on
top of the normal tariff for 7-10 years from the Commercial Operation Date
(COD) for proposals submitted before the end of 2008 (Amranand 2008). The to-
tal SPP's purchasing target was set at 1,600 MW, and the first programme was for
1,030 MW, which consisted of a cogeneration programme (500 MW) and a re-
newable programme (530 MW).
1 NGV (natural gas vehicle) is a vehicle that runs on a mix of clean alternative fuel, par-
ticularly compressed natural gas (CNG).