Thailand Energy Dashboard

Grid Summary

The Thai government seeks to establish Thailand as the Regional Energy Centre for South East Asia and has implemented a ‘Strategic Plan for Renewable Energy Development’. The aim of this plan is to increase the renewable energy share of commercial primary energy to 8% by 2011. If successful, the plan will deliver a production equivalent 5068 ktoe per year. Solar, wind, biomass, biogas, hydro, biofuels, geothermal and fuel cells are included in the Strategic Plan, as well as energy efficiency. The Thai Ministry of Energy released plans in 2004 which called for the 8% target to be met through a combination of ongoing SPP and VSPP programs and a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), in combination with incentive programs and increased funding for research and development in renewable energy technologies. The intended contribution from renewable energy is 2400 MW, of which 560 MW are already installed. The plan calls for a 400 MW RPS and the remainder to be developed through a variety of programs including specified electricity tariffs for different renewable energy technologies, tax breaks, direct capital subsidies and research and development (Du Pont, 2005)l...more information.

Thailand’s first Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report, produced in 2004, set out a series of very ambitious MDG-Plus targets for Thailand in the areas of poverty, health, education, gender equality, and the environment. As a result of this Report, the MDG Goals and its targets are included in the Tenth National Development Plan and the Women’s Development Plan. As a result of the MDG 3+ campaign in Thailand (to promote gender equality and empower women), the number of women senators was doubled, prior to the coup d’état in September 2006. The results of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), covering 73,000 households, conducted by the National Statistical Office, indicate that Thailand has been successful in achieving the MDG goals at the national level.The 2004 MDG Report highlights major challenges in addressing disparities at subnational level. There are problems in reaching people in very remote areas and vulnerable groups, including ethnic minorities and migrants. The MICS results show wide disparities between achievements at the national and provincial levels, especially for some of these vulnerable groups...more information.