Napier grass to be part of green energy plan, minister says

Napier grass, originally from Africa, is also known as Uganda grass or elephant grass for being a favourite food of elephants.

Speaking on the sidelines of the "Green Energy Forum: A Balancing Act for Sustainability" held by Krungthep Turakij, Pongsak said Germany had developed 7,000 power stations fuelled by Napier grass that provided 7,000 megawatts, and Thailand could match that production.

The ministry will provide a "feed-in tariff" subsidy of Bt4.50 per kilowatt-hour (unit) for a period of 25 years to power plants that use as feedstock Napier grass supplied by local communities. This grass can be grown in many parts of Thailand, especially in areas currently used as sugar-cane and tapioca plantations in the Northeast and Central regions, provided they are situated not too far from the power grid, he said.

Pongsak said alternative energy currently contributed merely 1 per cent of Thailand’s electricity production, and Napier grass would contribute a significant chunk of the target to increase the contribution of alternative energy to 25 per cent within 10 years.

"Concerning energy security, we are currently depending on natural gas for as much as 67 per cent [of power-generation needs]. Seven new records of peak power loads occurred during the past year, which prompted a call to save energy. While our installed capacity is 32,000MW, the power demand peaked in May at 26,774MW, leaving a power reserve gap of only 16 per cent," he said.

Pongsak said that if electricity-use growth rates remained at the current level, there could be power-supply issues in the next two years. Investors have often asked him about the government’s plan to boost electricity capacity.

He said the government would negotiate with Myanmar to pursue the 7,000MW Salawin hydropower project as well as putting more emphasis on biomass and biogas, including electricity production from Napier grass.

Considering the Bt6.50-per-unit subsidy for solar farms, promoting more solar plants will place an heavy burden on the public in terms of higher electricity costs, the minister said.

Nevertheless, Pongsak said he discussed with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra two weeks ago a plan to offer financial incentives to "off-grid" solar-cell projects for factories or households that produce solar energy for their own use without selling it to the national power grid, such as rooftop solar-cell installations.

Praipol Koomsup, a prominent energy economist from Thammasat University, told the seminar that unless there was a breakthrough in technology, Thailand was certainly poised to import more energy and depend more on the natural resources of neighbouring countries. Meanwhile, the environmental impacts of some of these power projects in neighbouring nations remain in doubt, such as the Hongsa Lignite and Xayaburi hydroelectric projects in Laos, he said.

"Actually, energy efficiency is the best alternative to fossil fuel. In many cases, energy-efficient projects provide higher returns than renewable energy and investment in new power plants: They offer more than a 10-per-cent rate of return, or above 20 per cent in some projects."

Praipol said the most important thing was to see that energy prices reflect the real costs, especially in the case of cooking gas. The government should allow prices to rise closer to the real costs in the world markets.

"Instead of continuing to suppress energy prices and mislead the people that energy is cheap, the government should make cooking gas the first example," he said.

Citing the United States’ Energy Education Act, PTT chief executive Pailin Chuchottaworn said consumers should be educated not only about their rights but also their responsibility regarding energy, which they need to conserve for the next generation.

Phichai Tinsuntisook, chairman of the Renewable Energy Industry Club of the Federation of Thai Industries, said about half of the alternative energy that the government targets for the country to use within 10 years were oil-related, such as biodiesel and gasohol. Meanwhile 38.5 per cent is thermal power such as that used in cement plants, which is hard to verify. That leaves only a small portion for such sources as wind, solar, biomass, biogas and waste-to-energy projects.

He urged the government to provide more support to biomass and biogas projects, which offer the highest benefit to the country, since they do not rely much on import and foreign investment.

"Our green energy is ailing, and it needs doctors," Phichai said.