News Room - Business/Economics

Posted on 25 Nov 2009

Emissions to be cut "by all means" (Thailand)

New energy measures are being drawn up to pave the way for a low-carbon society in Thailand, in line with an imminent international accord on control of carbon emissions.

 

Energy Ministry deputy permanent secretary Norkun Sitthiphong in an interview said the move would involve the 15-year power-development plan (PDP) and introduction of the carbon capture and storage (CCS) concept in Thailand.

 

"The energy sector is the biggest gas emitter," he said. "To move towards a low-carbon society, we will consider all options, such as nuclear, alternative energy and CCS, and focus on energy efficiency."

 

The PDP, which details Thailand's plans to satisfy demand for electricity, was primarily based on demand forecasts. Now, the focus will change to low-carbon fuel, Norkun said.

 

Those power-generating organisations that are unable to reduce their carbon emissions may be required to forge partnerships with clean-development mechanism (CDM) projects, which allow polluters to pay for green projects like growing forests, as a form of compensation for their emissions.

 

This will reverse the present trend, where most participants in CDM projects are European and Japanese, looking for "carbon credits" by paying for green projects in developing countries. Such a partnership was recently forged by two European companies - Bionersis and Eon Climate and Renewables - in Nakhon Pathom province's Kamphaeng Saen district. The project allows participants to earn certified emission-reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to 1 tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2).

 

The two companies are looking for more such projects in Southeast Asia.

 

Meanwhile, alternative energy will become an option for generating power, with an emphasis on energy efficiency.

 

"The changes should be ready early next year to support the effectiveness of a climate-change agreement in Copenhagen. Everyone must change for a better future," Norkun said.

 

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held in Copenhagen next month, with the resulting agreement enforced as a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

 

Driven by high fuel prices and environmental concerns, Thailand is moving towards consumption of alternative energy. Under the master plan, alternative energy will account for 20 per cent of total energy consumption by 2022. Alternatively fuelled energy, generated mainly by biogas and natural gas, will replace the consumption of 20 million tonnes of crude oil, reducing CO2 emissions by 42 million tonnes. Waste-generated power will reach 160 megawatts and together with thermal power will replace the consumption of 780,000 barrels of crude oil, reducing CO2 emissions by 300,000 tonnes per annum.

 

CCS is a new technology aimed at capturing CO2 at its sources and keeping it out of the atmosphere. Some European countries have already embarked on this technology, which is believed to reduce CO2 emissions from industrial plants 80-90 per cent.

 

Norkun said he was impressed with a CCS project in France, where Total's first gas field is located. There, CO2 is captured at the mouth of an exhaust tower. At present, another deputy permanent secretary, Kurujit Nakornthap, is inspecting Thailand's readiness for the technology, in geographical terms.

 

"We intend to introduce one project in 2011," he said. "We're involved in progressing towards a low-carbon society by all possible means. Fossil-fuel prices [which are expected to shoot up after the end of the global economic crisis] will drive this mission."

 

Energy Minister Wannarat Charnnukul said the 15-year Alternative-Energy Master Plan would ensure that once alternative-energy consumption increased from 6.4 per cent to 20 per cent in 2023, Thailand's greenhouse gas emissions would fall from their present level of 190 million tonnes a year, or 0.78 per cent of global emissions.

 

He said he planned to increase the number of personnel involved in the carbon-credit scheme, in order to speed up participation by more than 100 projects.

 

At present, only two projects have been certified for the scheme.