12 RENEWABLE ENERGY
Biogas – A major source of Thailand’s renewable energy power supply Hans-D. Westphal
One of the classic sources of renewable energy in Thailand is the production of biogas, due to the vast industry of food and agricultural products. These industries generate large amounts of waste water and other waste products that are suitable for producing biogas. Typical operators of such plants are the starch industry as well as breweries, palm oil and ethanol producers, and general food products and the beverage industries. The starch, palm and ethanol industries are the biggest players in this field; however, due to various factors, the capital expenses (CapEx) are usually kept at a quite low level with few exceptions. Outside the industrial sector the animal farms are also operating biogas systems, mostly applying quite simple technologies. One of the factors is that this is a seasonal business and some plants operate only a few months per year. This leads to low efficiency and availability. Many plants have received special Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with motivating feed-in tariffs from the local
UPDATE 4/2021
grid, while others have been unable to obtain them due to shor tage of feeders being available. German technology has always been promoted but compared with the opportunities and high-efficiency technologies available, relatively little business has been recorded; instead, cheaper local, simple covered lagoon systems have been preferred. These systems work with relatively low efficiency and availability, but still seem to satisfy the owners who earn the larger part of their income from producing actual products such as starch, palm oil and ethanol.
