part 1: overview of cogeneration and its status in asia - Fire

Cogeneration in Asia today 53
1.3 Thailand
Thailand can be considered as an excellent showcase for many of the Asian developing
countries as far as the promotion of small power generation and cogeneration is concerned.
The government of Thailand approved a policy in October 1988 to encourage private sector
involvement in power generation through cogeneration, renewable energies and waste fuels.
The Energy Policy Sub-committee established a working group with the task to develop
regulations for the purchase of power from small power producers. After experts reviewed the
draft regulations, a revised set of regulations was announced by the power utilities of
Thailand, defining the conditions for the purchase of power from small power producers
(SPP). This was followed by the first request for proposal of 300 MW and an amendment in
the EGAT 2 Act, allowing direct sale to third party if not connected to the grid. It took a little
while to build up awareness in the private sector but once the ideas were understood, there
was a tremendous response. This is proved by the fact that from only 13.3 GWh of electricity
purchased from SPP in 1994, the figure went up to 2,152 GWh in 1997. By June 1998, EGAT
had issued notification of acceptance of electricity from 70 SPPs with a total power capacity
of 2,951 MW.
1.3.1 Potential for cogeneration in Thailand
According to the report of a survey commissioned by the National Energy Policy Office
(NEPO) of Thailand in April 1992, industries were found to have an installed generating
capacity of over 876 MW, 22 per cent of which was set aside as the spare capacity. A
detailed study undertaken for each of the industrial sub-sectors revealed a technical potential
for increasing the existing generation capacity by over 3,000 MW. A rigorous financial analysis
using the prevailing economic and financial parameters and relatively conservative
assumptions indicated that about one-half of the estimated technical potential, over 1,500
MW, could be financially viable.
2
Table 1.3 Existing and potential cogeneration in Thai industries (1992 data)
Type of
industry
Chemical industry
Food industry
Industrial estate
Municipal waste
Oil refinery
Palm oil mill
Petrochemical
Pulp and paper
Large rice mill
Saw mill waste
Sugar mill
Textile mill
Existing
cogeneration
capacity (MWe)
8.4
15.3
-
-
27.0
6.0
64.1
68.4
47.2
-
630.0
9.4
Additional
technical
potential
(MWe)
626
681
N.A.
48
141
32
268
252
444
-
329
277
EGAT: Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
Additional
financial
potential
(MWe)
236
216
-
69
20
-
100
45
200+
-
100
33
Remarks
many small factories
many small factories
pending cabinet decision
requires low cost fuel
expansion in production
high-pressure system retrofit
all financially viable
smaller size not feasible
use of surplus husk at 50 bar
unsteady supply
buy-back at 1.2 Baht/kWh
grid purchase reduction only