Client
Expertise
Energy transition
Impact
Defining a clear pathway to achieve Thailand’s energy targets.
CHALLENGE
How can countries bring clarity and confidence to achieve their energy transition?
In 2021, Thailand set the target in its National Energy Plan to achieve a 50% renewable energy share in new power capacity.
The expected transformation of Thailand’s power sector will be a tremendous task which could make a real impact in a country where the energy sector makes up approximately 70% of all greenhouse gas emissions. While climate pledges are a pivotal start, cannot stand alone. Without clear trajectories, immediate action can be unnecessarily put off. A detailed roadmap can put the various cogs in motion and drive Thailand's energy transition forward.
As a long-standing partner, the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office wanted to support Thailand’s Energy Policy and Planning Office in spurring the country’s energy transition. It commissioned the Carbon Trust to outline a detailed roadmap on how Thailand could meet its renewable energy target through immediate-, short-, medium- and long-term actions.
SOLUTION
Delving into the different drivers of the energy transition
To create a roadmap that could be implemented across industries, gaining a bird's-eye view of Thailand's energy sector and transition objectives was important. This meant looking beyond policies and regulations, acknowledging infrastructure needs, skills gaps and labour readiness. As such, it is imperative to hear from private and public parties. As a technical partner, we:
Engaged with 50 local and international experts to ensure every voice across the industry is heard. These groups ranged from government agencies like Thailand's Energy Regulatory Commission, private energy providers, and academics at Chulalongkorn University's Energy Research Institute.
Characterised Thailand’s power system. Here, we pinpointed the challenges* and bottlenecks that could slow down Thailand’s renewable energy uptake and identified solutions to facilitate deployment.
Laid out 19 recommendations to trigger and accelerate action. As part of this, we worked closely with local consultancy Creagy. Recommendations were grouped into five pillars: Policy and Regulation, Market Mechanisms, Infrastructure, Innovation and Human Capacity.
Designed a roadmap to implement these recommendations. It includes a timescale of realistic actions for the immediate (2022-2024), short (2025-2029), medium (2030-2037) and long-term (2038-2050).
* The proposed recommendations seek to overcome Thailand's barriers to a fast energy transition, such as:
- Unclear targets and trajectories: There must be clear trajectories, emphasising individual responsibilities so parties work towards the same targets.
- Obsolete regulatory and contractual clauses: For the private sector to actively participate in a country’s transition, enabling investment and creating revenue opportunities are necessary.
- Lack of infrastructure: Plans need to be put in place to maintain grid stability and ensure the offtake, transport and supply of renewable power.
- Working in siloes: Greater collaboration and coordination between market players will strengthen learning and accelerate innovation.
IMPACT
Steering the direction of Thailand’s energy transition
As countries set Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and make further climate pledges, backing commitments with implementation plans is critical. The roadmap brings a new level of clarity. It details how Thailand can ramp up its renewable power share and divide responsibilities. In doing so, it:
Has become a component of Thailand’s refreshed National Energy Plan. The plan promotes cleaner and more efficient energy use, setting the foundation for Thailand’s energy transition.
Proposes actionable tasks and suggests how stakeholders can share responsibilities. Doing so ensures all market players are on the same trajectory and can collaborate.
Shares some of the lessons learned by the UK, adopting these to the context in Thailand.
The Carbon Trust's robust analysis and recommendations towards Thailand's renewable energy ambitions form an essential part of the UK government's support around the formulation of evidence-informed policy. The team's realistic mindset and its wide lens of the energy transition made the Carbon Trust the right technical partner for us. They clearly understand how different elements across the energy transition interplay.
We want to thank the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for funding this project. The views expressed in our recommendations do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the government of the United Kingdom.
