23-07-01 Thailand plans major development of renewable energy, to prepare the country for future needs and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of an international climate change agreement. Saksit Tridech, secretary-general of the Office of Environmental Policy and Planning, said a renewable energy development plan would be reviewed and, where possible, action taken.
As an agricultural country, Thailand had a strong potential for renewable energy sources, mostly biomass such as rice husks, bagasse, and wood chips. A study by the National Energy Policy Office indicated that the country's renewable energy sources could yield as much as 3,000 MW of electricity. However, only about 225 MW are produced so far.
"We will first begin where we have high potential. For instance, the use of rice husks would work for a rice planting area with rice mills," Mr Saksit said while attending a climate conference in Bonn. He revealed that the country's first power plant fuelled by wood chips would become operational soon.

A pilot project, the 10-MW plant is funded by the Electricity Generating Co., is located in the southern province of Yala where rubber wood is plentiful. The secretary-general said the country's energy sector should depend less on carbon-rich fossil fuels, like oil and coal, once the development of renewable energy sources is promoted at the national level.
"Renewables are not only climate-friendly, they also provide an answer to farm waste management," he said. Thailand has no legal commitment to reduce carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, under the terms of the Kyoto Protocol, which requires industrialised countries to reduce an average of 5.2 % of greenhouse gases based on the 1990 levels during 2008-2012. However, Mr Saksit said the country must be prepared to cope with climate-related problems threatening the world.
His agency had taken steps to adopt a climate action policy that would lead to greenhouse gas emission reductions. Some emission reduction measures had alreadybeen adopted, like energy conservation schemes. But more needed to be done, he said. Meanwhile, he said, the Clean Development Mechanism which includes carbon sinks was acceptable.

The mechanism is contained in a compromise proposal put forward by the conference chairman, Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk, in a bid to coax negotiators into adopting the Kyoto Protocol. Carbon sinks are basically forests and other green areas believed able to store carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas. The adoption of carbon sinks would make it easier for industrialised countries to reach their individual target of greenhouse gas emission reductions.
"However, it is our position that the concept must at least be scientifically sound," he said. A study by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted a rise in the world's temperature of 1.4-5.8 degrees Celsius during 1990-2100 as a result of man-made activities. The changing climate, unless averted, would lead to an increase in extreme climate phenomena, like floods and drought, that will have an immense impact on human health and food security.