Reviewers say PDP didn’t meet climate targets
PUBLISHED: 19 Dec 2024 at 04: 53
The 2024 power development plan ( PDP ) may need significant adjustments to develop better ways to manage Thailand’s long-term power supply and strengthen the country’s fight against global warming, says Prasert Sinsukprasert, permanent secretary of the Energy Ministry.
The Energy Policy and Planning Office is now reviewing the PDP, which will submit it for authorization to the National Energy Policy Council, which is led by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Despite the fact that the program has already received a public reading, there is still a large dispute among energy experts regarding the PDP’s potential change.
Energy Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga even did not give an “active answer” to the schedule, Mr Prasert said on Wednesday.
Under the PDP, energy demand in Thailand is expected to increase to 112, 391 kwh at the end of the program set for 2037, away from 51, 000MW at present.
Critics worry that the size may put too much of a strain on the government because it is too high, according to Mr. Prasert.
According to the critics, the PDP is designed to encourage greater usage of solar power, but its fraction is insufficient to support the president’s anti-global heat plan.
By 2037, according to the PDP, solar energy will account for 51 % of total energy use, up from 20 % at the end of last year, while coal and oil will account for 48 %, down from nearly 80 % as of early this year.
The remaining 1 % is made up of nuclear power and novel energy options that aim to cut down on energy use and save money.
Previous top Prayut Chan-o-cha announced in 2021 at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference that Thailand would be more intense in addressing climate change, striving to reach carbon independence, a balance between carbon dioxide emissions and assimilation, by 2050, along with a net-zero goal, a balance between greenhouse gas emissions and assimilation, by 2065.
Mr. Pirapan will officially announce whether the PDP will be changed next year, according to Mr. Prasert.
In another matter, the Energy Ministry intends to pick Thai and international businesses interested in the Andaman Sea’s oil exploration and production by the end of the first quarter of the year.
In Myanmar, according to Mr. Prasert, new oil sources are feasible close to the country’s current offshore oil fields.