Piyasvasti supports higher renewable energy portion

Former energy minister Piyasvasti Amranand proposed a higher portion of electricity generated by renewable energy.

At an energy seminar today, he said the higher portion of renewable energy will help reduce Thailand’s reliance on natural gas in power generation. He noted that Thailand should not also embrace new technology of which results are not yet conclusive, like the generating of power from Napier grass.

He said that thanks to advanced technology, renewable energy offers a lower cost. From Bt16 at the beginning, solar power generating cost is now Bt5-Bt6 per kilowatt hour, close to the natural gas cost.

At present, some 600 solar power projects are pending approvals from the Energy Ministry and Industry Ministry, for the combined capacity of 4,000 megawatt.

Piyasvasti has criticised that red tape has caused delays in the projects. A solar power project with capacity of over 3.6 kilowatt requires a factory license from the Industry Ministry, for example.