The largest energy producing country in South-East Asia is Thailand, but the nation also has a high dependency on imported energy.
According to Thailand’s Energy Policy and Planning Office, energy consumption in Thailand in 2002 was valued at about 800 billion Baht (around US$ 20 billion at the time). This accounted for approximately 14% of Thailand’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The value of imported energy was 37.5% of that figure. 2007/2008 estimates show the country exported 773 million kWh of electricity, but imported of 129.5 billion kWh.
By 2017, the value of energy consumption in Thailand is predicted to increase to 2.1 trillion Baht and dependency on imported energy will inevitably increase accordingly under a business as usual scenario.
Added to Thailand’s energy security concerns, the looming threats posed by climate change is seeing solar power gaining more attention in the nation.
The Thai national plan for solar energy aims at a minimum 15-fold increase in solar power capacity, from 36 MW in 2008 to 550 MW in 2022. A guaranteed feed-in tariff of THB 8 / kwh (AUD 27 cents) has already spurred on plans for 92 solar farms with total generating capacity of 250MW.
Key to the development of a solar industry in Thailand is an upcoming event, SolarBangkok 2010.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will give a keynote speech at the national conference and exhibition in Bangkok on 22/23 March 2010. Organised by the Thai Energy for Environment Foundation and backed by the Thai Ministry of Energy, SolarBangkok 2010 will work towards the implementation of working structures to support the large-scale deployment of solar panel based energy production in Thailand. The event will also provide partnership opportunities for foreign investors and other foreign companies able to help develop the local market.
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