State energy agencies and energy companies are looking forward to a new version of the national energy plan (NEP), which is expected to be unveiled during Sustainable Energy Technology Asia 2022.
The international event, which includes two seminars on energy development -- Solar+Storage Asia 2022 and Enlit Asia 2022 -- is scheduled to be held during Sept 20-22 at Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre.
The theme of the event is a move to accelerate Asean's energy transition to achieve carbon neutrality, a balance between carbon dioxide emissions and absorption.
Poonpat Leesombatpiboon, executive director of the International Affairs Division under the Ministry of Energy, said the NEP would examine the management of fossil-derived energy and renewable energy.
The NEP includes power development, oil and gas management, alternative energy development as well as energy efficiency. It is being considered by energy policymakers who need to make several revisions in response to changes in the energy situation.
Under the NEP, Thailand will not only focus on energy security but also plans to achieve carbon neutrality.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed during the 26th UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow late last year that Thailand would try harder to address climate change, striving to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and a net-zero target, a balance between greenhouse gas emissions and absorption, by 2065.
Authorities are also promoting electric vehicles (EVs) in the country as a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
In March last year, the National EV Policy Committee announced it wanted EVs to constitute 50% of locally made vehicles by 2030, part of an ambitious plan to make Thailand a regional EV production hub.
Clean energy development is becoming more important, following campaigns worldwide against global warming, and manufacturers are being encouraged to use clean energy in their production processes before exporting their products to developed countries, said Veeradej Tejapaibul, vice-chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI)'s Renewable Energy Industry Club.
FTI's RE100 Thailand Club, which is working to promote renewable energy, the Thai Photovoltaic Association and energy policymakers jointly organised Sustainable Energy Technology Asia 2022.
More than 200 companies and organisations in Asia, including Trilliant, Wartsila, Shell, Mitsubishi, Siemens, ABB, Jera, Toyota and Saudi Aramco, are expected to participate in the event.
