Alternative-energy plan contains misleading figures
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand has urged the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE) to make the data it provides on renewable-energy capacity in the South more realistic.
An anonymous source at Egat said the Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP 2015), which starts this year and ends in 2036, included exaggerated figures for the actual capacity of power production from renewable energy. These unrealistic data could mislead investors into making unreasonable plans, particularly in the South.
Last year, renewable-energy projects in the South the government is committed to backing financially totalled 717 megawatts. Under the AEDP, power generated in that region by renewable sources will be boosted by 1,748MW to 2,465MW by 2036. Of the total increase, about 1,027MW is expected to be generated by wind, 822MW by biomass and 322MW by hydropower.
After assessing the figures, Egat doubts that wind power can achieve the target. Currently, wind-power capacity amounts to only 12MW in the South.
"The DEDE indicates very high capacity for wind energy, and that could cause problems in the plan after its implementation. People could misunderstand that the South contains capacity for renewable energy as high as 2,465MW, 1,027MW of which will be from wind energy," the source said.
The source said the South’s present generating capacity was 3,059MW, and about 500-600MW more could be transmitted from the Central region as needed. In April last year, demand for electricity peaked at 2,468MW.
However, given the 7 per cent annual rise in electricity demand in the South, two solutions may be required. The first is to develop 500- and 230-kilovolt power-supply systems from the Central region to Phuket and Songkhla. The second is to plan construction of coal-fired power plants in Krabi and Songkhla to cope with the future situation.
Under the AEDP 2015 approved by the National Energy Policy Council on May 14, renewable-energy capacity is planned to rise to 19,635MW nationwide, up 12,356MW from 7,279MW in 2014.
Solar power is set to see the biggest boost, to 6,000MW from the current 1,570MW. Biomass is next, with a target to raise its power-generating capacity to 5,570MW from the current 2,199MW.
Hydropower is set to move up to 3,282MW from the current 3,016MW and wind power is targeted at 3,002MW, up from the current 220MW.
