Electricity Generation In Thailand Research Articles

Adoption of biomass for electricity generation in Thailand: Implications for energy security, employment, environment, and land use change

As countries implement renewable energy policies, it's important to understand the impacts of policies on sustainability. Population, economic and production changes affects in land use, water consumption and emissions along with trade-offs for limited resources to achieve food and energy security. Thailand faces increasing electricity imports and agricultural production, causing residue burning, a resource utilized for electricity generation. Thailand implemented a renewable energy policy and another to curb sugarcane residue burning addressing above challenges. The paper uses an extended input-output model in Thailand and the Northeast to understand impacts of these policies on output, labor income, employment, land and water use, etc. The study concludes these policies lead to supplementary increase in income, employment and value added contributing towards achieving SDGs through energy security, climate action, decent work and economic growth. At a national level, renewable energy policy is unable to capture a large potential of biomass electricity, while the no burn policy is better able to achieve sustainability through total output, income, employment, and water use. The renewable energy policy in Northeast Thailand is better able to capture the electricity potential. The Northeast also sees land use shifts from rice to cane, which could cause food security challenges.

An Analysis of the Impacts of Solar Electricity Generation on the Electricity Industry for Thailand

This paper provides an analysis of the impacts of solar electricity generation on the electricity industry for Thailand. In this paper, three scenarios (REF, Solar2015 and Solar2018) are developed to represent an increased levels of electricity produced from solar energy. A Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP) model is employed in this paper to assess the impacts for the period 2019-2037. This paper assesses the scenario impacts in terms of diversification of electricity generation, generation technology mix, primary energy requirement and CO2 emissions. The analysis reveals that greater role of solar energy in the electricity generation would have positive impacts on the Thai electricity generation from several aspects including improving the diversification of primary energy supply for electricity generation, reducing fossil fuel consumptions for power production, less reliance on fossil fuel sources and environmentally friendly electricity generation. For example, 20% share of solar in fuel mix for power generation would result in a 17% reduction in fossil fuel consumption. Furthermore, it would contribute to a 16% decrease in CO2 emissions and 28% reduction in SO2 emissions. Despite several benefits, there are a number of emerging barriers for promoting solar based electricity generation in Thailand. These include inefficient and unreliable nature of solar energy for baseload electricity demand, high-initial cost, unsupportable grid infrastructure and unfavourable regulatory framework. This paper, therefore, recommends that development of energy storage technologies, improvement of grid flexibility and the revision of the regulations to support solar energy business could be effective strategies in order to address the barriers facing the Thai electricity industry.

CO2 Mitigation in the Power Sector of Thailand: Analyses of Cleaner Supply-side Options Beyond the Paris Agreement

Background: The drastically increasing share of fossil fuel supply to meet the rapidly growing electricity demand resulting in increasing Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, is the major concern in Thailand. In 2015, fossil fuels used in electricity generation in Thailand accounted for around 85.3% of the total electricity generation. Aim: The aim of the study is to analyze carbon dioxide mitigation options under the cleaner supply-side option beyond the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) of Thailand. Methods: In this study, the Long-range Energy Planning (LEAP) model is used to analyze the share of electricity generation and CO2 mitigation from four main different scenarios, namely Business-as-Usual (BAU), Renewable Energy (RE), Carbon Capture Storage (CCS), and Carbon Tax (CT) scenarios during 2015 to 2050. The BAU scenario is constructed following the power development targets of the Power Development Plan in 2015. Results: The results illustrate that in the BAU scenario, electricity generation and carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector will increase by 57.7% and 37.3%, respectively in 2050 as compared to 2015. The imposition of carbon tax of $20/tCO2 from 2020 and an increase to $500/t CO2 by 2050 will have a high potential to reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector as compared with other scenarios. Conclusion: Results show that except for the RE scenarios considering the lower share of solar and biomass, all scenarios would help Thailand in achieving the target of INDC by 2030. Results provide that the share of imported electricity is higher with the imposition of carbon tax as compared to the scenarios with the promotion of renewable energy, CCS and EV technology.

Waste to Electricity Generation in Thailand: Technology, Policy, Generation Cost, and Incentives of Investment

Waste-to-Energy is a challenging management in developing countries. There are many different technologies to generate electricity or heat from wastes. However, reuse and recycling are first prioritized as left a fraction of waste can be used as energy recovery. The initial cost to generate electricity from solid waste incineration is prohibitively high due to its cost of advance technology and the cost of equipment to control emissions. Thailand is agricultural based country and has experiences of many technologies to utilize waste to energy. Landfill gas and thermal gasification are increasingly interesting alternatives to municipal solid waste incineration and it is recommended that biogas technology is suitable and is cost effective in management of organic waste or animal manure waste. This research studied in existing technologies in terms of electricity generated from waste, long term government policy, carbon dioxide reduction, electricity cost production and incentive investment. Until recently, Thailand has generated electricity from waste of 47 MW, from the target in 2021 with target capacity of 400 MW. Since Thailand has an incentive investment of electric power generated from renewable sources and wastes in terms of feed-in tariffs it can motivate private investors to invest and produce electricity to the grid. To generate electricity from waste it also has potential in reducing CO 2 reduction and creates more potential jobs. In various agricultural based industries such as palm oil industry, cassava industry, in animal farm and in landfills gas have potential to generate electricity in Thailand. In case of landfill gas with the installed capacity of 3.0 MW, it can generate electricity of 13,492 MWh per year and produce potential of selling carbon credits of 60,532 ton-CO 2 per year.

Alternative Energy Technologies for Long-term Power Generation Expansion Planning and CO2 Mitigation in Thailand

In 2009 electricity production in Thailand was heavily dependent on fossil fuels (more than 92.73%). Domestic natural gas fields are a plentiful energy resource but it is projected to be available only for the next decade. Using domestic natural gas would reduce national energy security. However, coal will dominate in electricity generation in Thailand due to its low price. Utilization of coal results in increasing CO2 emissions. To comply with the low-carbon society policy of the Royal Thai Government, a high target of achievement in alternative energy share of 20.40% in total energy consumption in 2022 has been proposed. The obvious answer to this challenge is to take advantage of Thailand as an agriculture-based country, especially in domestic renewable energy and clean power generation. Thailand’s renewable power development plan strategy is considered by increasing the share to 2.40% in 2024. Electricity generation in this scenario is compared with future fossil-based power plants with carbon capture and storage and nuclear power in the long-term energy planning. Finally, the low carbon socity scenario for the emission abatement policy is introduced to mitigate emissions. Results are presented in total supply system cost, the incremental cost of CO2 mitigation and the co-benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation when compared to the business-as-usual scenario. Finally, Thailand could reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector by 15.27% in 2026.

The Potential of Biomass Energy from Agricultural Residues for Small Electricity Generation in Thailand

The demand for energy in Thailand has been continually increasing as the economic and social country grows. Approximately 60% of Thailand's primary energy is imported, mostly petroleum products. In 2008, Thailand's total energy consumption was 80,971 ktoe and the net price of energy imported was up to 1,161 billion Baht, which is equivalent to 12.8% of the GDP at the current price. Energy consumption or energy demand has been growing at an annual compounded growth rate of 6.42% and the peak electric power demand and electricity consumption was recorded at 22,568 MW and 148,264 GWh and grew at a rate of 7.0 and 7.5% per annum during the period from 1989 to 2008. The gross agriculture production in 2008 was recorded at 135.4 Mt, representing agriculture residue for energy at 65.73 Mt, which is equivalent to an energy potential of about 561.64 PJ or 13,292 ktoe (an increase in average of 5.59 and 5.44% per year, respectively). The agricultural residues can be converted to 15,600 GWh/year or 1,780 MW of power capacity. So, if Thailand's government plans to install small biomass gasification for electricity generation 200 kW for Sub-district Administrative Organization. The residue agricultural is available for 8,900 plants nationwide. The small biomass gasification for electricity generation not only reduces the energy imports, it also makes jobs and income for people in rural areas as well. This article's aim is to report the energy situation in Thailand, and it has studied five main agricultural products with high residue energy potential, namely, sugarcane, paddy, oil palm, cassava, and maize, appropriate for small electricity production. These agricultural products can be found planted in many rural areas throughout Thailand. Finally, the article discusses the situation, methods, and policies that the government uses to promote small private power producers supplying electricity into the grid.

Subsidy schemes of renewable energy policy for electricity generation in Thailand

The dissemination of renewable energy subsidy schemes around the world has prompted dialogue and debate on the comparative merits of different policy schemes, whether it is monetary or non-monetary support. Some countries have announced the legislation to force power producers to build or buy electricity from renewable power plants (i.e. the power plants using renewable resources as the source of fuel) at the government electricity rate. In some countries, the production of electricity from renewable energy by the government has been promoted by purchasing that electricity at a higher rate than the normal rate. In order to encourage the application of renewable energy, the most prevalent policies for supporting new renewable electricity are variations of the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) and the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The Feed in tariff offers a long-term, fixed price payment to renewable energy generators, whereas the RPS has a mandatory to supply electricity from renewable resources, either by selfproduction or out-source at a defined ratio. RPS seeks to create price competition between renewable energy generators to meet defined targets, and typically define a maximum cost through a price cap instrument. This study was aimed to comparison of renewable subsidies scheme policies in various countries like USA and Europe. The results of the study suggest that a reasonable approach to encourage the electricity production from renewable resources in Thailand is an integrated scheme of a mandatory and voluntary base.

CO2 mitigation model of future power plants with integrated carbon capture and storage in Thailand

Thailand currently relies on natural gas, coal, and oil for electricity production. Natural gas and oil fields are the plentiful domestic energy resources in the Gulf of Thailand, but are projected to be available only in the next decade. Using domestic natural gas would reduce national energy security. Due to its low price, coal will dominate in electricity generation in Thailand. However, more utilization of coal results in increasing CO2 emissions. To comply with the low-carbon society policy of the Royal Thai Government, carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) for the future committed power plants in Thailand is introduced and analysed using the market allocation model, a least-cost energy planning tool. In this study, CO2 mitigation scenarios include integrated CCS to new gas- and coal-based power plants, nuclear power and renewable-based power plants and these were introduced as mitigation options. In energy-demand forecasting, share of coal-based plants is projected to increase from 0.72% in 2006 to 14.97% in 2030, while the share of gas-based plants decreases from 79.24 to 53.25% in the same period. This study also presents possible gas and oil fields for storing CO2 in the deep saline aquifer in the Gulf of Thailand. Results show the optimal CO2 incremental cost and revenue when applied with clean development mechanism and feed-in-tariff for renewable energy and the CCS project in Thailand.

Electricity capacity expansion in Thailand: An analysis of gas dependence and fuel import reliance

Electricity generation in Thailand is highly dependant on natural gas. Recent research has revealed that the Thai economy would become more vulnerable from high gas dependence in the power sector. This paper aims to assess the economic impact of gas dependence in power generation in the coming decades. To fulfil this objective, two scenarios of electricity capacity planning were developed and the results were analysed to understand the changes in gas dependence and the effects on import reliance. It is found that from 2011 to 2025, the average cost of natural gas for power generation will account for 2.41% of gross domestic product (GDP) while high oil price in international energy markets would push this cost to 2.97% of GDP. In addition, reliance on fuel imports for power generation, particularly natural gas and coal, is going to be another crucial concern to the security of energy supply as the costs of these imports during the planning horizon will increase significantly at an average rate of 6.78% per year.

Power sector scenarios for Thailand: An exploratory analysis 2002–2022

Power sector scenarios for Thailand are constructed in this paper to represent the range of opportunities and constraints associated with divergent set of technical and policy options. They include Business-As-Usual (BAU), No-New-Coal (NNC), and Green Futures (GF) scenarios over a 20-year period (2002–2022). The results from the BAU scenario show that fossil fuels will continue to dominate electricity generation in Thailand during the study period. Similar results are obtained for the NNC option, although the dependence shifts from coal and oil towards natural gas-based power generation. This may represent a better environmental pathway but an all out shift from coal to natural gas is likely to increase Thailand's dependence on imported fuel, making it more vulnerable to unstable global oil and gas prices. The GF scenario offers a more optimistic route that allows the country to confront its energy security dilemma whilst fulfilling its environmental commitments by giving renewable energy technologies a prominent place in the country's power generation mix. Over the study period, our result showed little difference between the three scenarios in terms of financing new generation plants despite an early misgiving about the viability of an ambitious renewable energy programme. This paper also goes beyond the financial evaluation of each scenario to provide a comparison of the scenarios in terms of their greenhouse gas emissions together with the comparative costs of emissions reductions. Indeed, if such externalities are taken into account to determine ‘viability’, the GF scenario represents an attractive way forward for the Thai power sector.

Financing solar thermal technologies under DSM programs: an innovative approach to promote renewable energy

A wide range of demand side management (DSM) options has been practiced so far in developed as well as in developing countries. However, solar thermal technologies have been left out from DSM programs considering them as supply side options. This study argues that a number of solar thermal technologies, which provide the same services as electric appliances, can be considered as DSM options and examines the possibility of promoting solar water heaters (SWH) under DSM programs in Thailand. The study found that installation of SWH in place of conventional electric water heaters (EWH) to meet hot water demand in the residential sector would be economically beneficial to the country as a whole. However, switching to SWH from EWH would be unlikely without having government interventions as there would be no incentives to individual consumers in doing so. If the government or state electric utilities provide funding to residential consumers through DSM programs for replacing their EWH by SWH, the total electricity generation in Thailand during the 2000–2015 period would decrease by 3.8 per cent. Moreover, promotion of SWH under DSM programs would cause 3.35 and 1.41 per cent reductions of total power sector CO2- and NOx-emissions respectively, during the same period. This study also reveals that solar thermal technologies, especially the SWH, could be better options for DSM programs compared to the end-use efficiency improvement options in Thailand. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessing health impacts of air pollution from electricity generation: the case of Thailand

We apply the impact pathway approach (IPA) to estimate health impacts and corresponding damage costs of sulfur dioxide (SO 2) and emissions of fine particulate matter (PM10) from four power units using different fuels (lignite, oil, natural gas, and coal) at four locations in Thailand. The results show that the damage costs related to health effects of electricity generation in Thailand are relatively small, but not negligible, ranging from 0.006 U.S. cent to 0.05 U.S. cent per kilowatt-hour (in 1995 dollars). Damage costs to the public health due to SO 2 and PM10 emissions from electricity generation not only depend on fuel and generating technology but also depend strongly on power plant location. This implies that the assessment of adverse health impacts is very important for technology choice and siting of new power plants.