Unity of govt agencies 'crucial' as costs of renewable energy fall
Falling costs of renewable fuels have offered enormous opportunities but the government is a "big problem" hindering development of green energy in Thailand, former energy minister Piyasvasti Amranand said yesterday.
“The government is unfortunately not harmonised. The Energy Ministry supports renewable energy, but I can’t say other ministries do the same,” he told the “Asia in Transformation” conference held by the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration.
The private sector is very much ready to invest in renewable energy provided there are a clear policy and sufficient incentives, he said, but trouble with the provision of land for developing wind-farm projects is an example of problematic government.
Tulsi Tanti, chairman and managing director of Suzlon Energy, a global wind-power company based in India, told the Bangkok conference that the public needed to be made aware of the benefits of renewable energy. Then the political will would follow, as well as a clear, long-term sustainable policy framework that stipulates a fixed contribution of renewable energy to the total energy supply pool.
“As long as these are provided, we don’t need any subsidies or grants,” he said.
At last month’s United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon predicted that renewable energy would be a catalyst for sustainable economic development and at the same time create environmentally supportive jobs, he said.
“We don’t have a choice. It’s a wrong perception that renewable energy is expensive,” he said.
In India, the wind-farm industry has grown tremendously to 10 per cent of total installed electricity capacity, thanks to a scheme that offers electricity purchased from windmills 4 rupees (a little over Bt2) per kilowatt-hour over the first 10 years, and 1 rupee during the following years.
Wind power could be developed in Thailand based on a tariff provision of only Bt2-Bt3 per kilowatt-hour, he added.
Chen Namchaisiri, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said renewable-energy development should not erode the competitiveness of the Thai economy. A study had found that renewable energy could raise the price of electricity in Thailand by Bt0.07 per kilowatt-hour, and now the figure is likely to go up to Bt0.12, he said.
Piyasvasti said solar-farm costs had come down tremendously because of new manufacturers in Asia., from a peak of US$2.20 per kilowatt three years ago to Bt0.80 at present.
“It will be competitive with fossil fuels very soon,” he said.
