BANGKOK: Thailand has firmly positioned itself as South-East Asia’s energy transition leader as Energy Minister Auttapol Rerkpiboon opened the IEEE PES GTD (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Power & Energy Society Generation Transmission and Distribution) Asia 2025 conference in Bangkok on Nov 27, bringing together over 10,000 participants and 400 leading companies from more than 40 countries to chart the region’s path towards carbon neutrality.
The four-day event at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre marks a pivotal moment for Thailand’s energy ambitions, with Auttapol emphasising the conference’s strategic importance in advancing the nation’s clean energy transformation.
Dr Narin Phoawanich, governor of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) and president of IEEE Thailand, outlined the state enterprise’s comprehensive roadmap to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, with an ambitious interim target of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2037.
Egat is implementing the government’s Quick Big Win energy policy through Direct Power Purchase Agreements, enabling businesses to access renewable energy directly from producers.
The utility has also introduced the Utility Green Tariff 1 for non-source-specific green electricity, supporting Community Solar initiatives and upgrading grid infrastructure to accommodate renewable integration and emerging industries including electric vehicles, data centres, and artificial intelligence (AI) Internet of Things robotics.
To advance towards carbon neutrality, Egat is studying and developing technologies to increase clean energy capacity.
The utility’s roadmap includes a 600-megawatt (MW) Small Modular Reactor for round-the-clock low-carbon power, piloting 2,725MW of floating solar capacity across nine reservoirs under Egat management, and advancing pumped-storage hydroelectric projects, solar farm and battery installations, as well as battery energy storage systems.
Concurrently, Egat is developing transmission systems and modernising grid networks to increase flexibility for renewable energy integration.
The transmission system development programme comprises three implementation phases during 2025 to 2037, with a total budget of 33,500 million baht.
Furthermore, this infrastructure investment will expand Thailand’s transmission capacity by 580 billion baht and create 4,680 jobs.
Grid modernisation efforts focus on enhancing system flexibility through several critical initiatives: a Digital Control Platform for automated power system control, Infrastructure Expansion Sharing for renewable energy management, and a New Agreement for Construction Flexibility to mitigate generation variation.
The utility is also deploying Transmission Protection Control Monitoring and Asset Management systems to enhance grid stability, alongside a cybersecurity-focused data analysis platform.
These infrastructure investments will support Egat’s deployment of substantial renewable capacity, including over 3,000MW of hydrogen-based power and large-scale solar projects, whilst enabling industrial growth, data centres, and regional connectivity across the Eastern Economic Corridor. — The Nation/ANN
