Overview of Renewable Energies for Future Development In Thailand
Abstract
Energy will continue to play an important role in the future. A rapidly increasing availability of energy at reasonable price is one of the key issues for development.
The deterioration of local and global environmental conditions and the increasing recognition of the threats posed by man produced enhancement of the greenhouse effect have become the main driving force towards the development of energy alternatives and improvements in the efficiency of energy use.
The economically accessible potential for renewable energy sources (RES) can be grossly assessed from known climatic data and broad assumptions of population and energy demand growth. In Asia, there is a very substantial potential contribution to the energy balance of the region, ranging from 25% to35% of the total energy needs [1]. Many technologies for the utilization of renewable sources of energy offer solutions that are already cost-effective in several situations. They include, mainly, biomass, solar, geothermal and wind energy.
This paper is intended to provide a brief overview and assessment of renewable energy, demonstrating the role that it may play in the policy of future energy planning. The technical information concerning each application is outside the scope of this paper. It can be expected that the future energy budget of Thailand, as well as of the world and of developing countries (DC) in particular, depend not on one or another hegemony’s source as in the past, but rather on a much greater effort toward increased efficiency of energy utilization and, on the supply side, on the co-existence of several sources, to be used in different proportion according to local needs, opportunities and applications. Thailand, which is facing a major energy transition, being less bound by investments made in the past, has the opportunity of greater flexibility. Finally, from a scientific point of view, the RES might contribute partially to solving the present economic crises in Southeast Asian countries by increasing awareness of environment and efficient use of whatever energy source are available.