| PROMOTION POLICIES IN THAILAND |
Due to proper climate and governmental support, Thailand is among the most potential countries for cultivating, harvesting and producing clean sources of energy. Following the Royal Initiative Projects and His Majesty the King’s vision of a greener future and a self-reliant country, the Thai Government launched the use of biodiesel as a national program in 2001. Since then the government has initiated several measures to promote biodiesel with the foremost purpose of reducing the country's dependence on imported oil, enhancing energy security, and promoting the use of alternative energy made from domestic crops while always having the vision in mind that non-polluting bio-fuels will ultimately enhance people’s quality of life.
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PUBLIC AWARENESS OF BIODIESEL |
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BIODIESEL RESEARCH |
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In 2003 the Department of Alternative Energy and Efficiency started an experimental project for distributing and encouraging the use of B2 biodiesel. In Chiang Mai, about 1,300 public-transport pickups have joined this project.
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The Thai Government has initiated, conducted and supported various studies of the production and use of biodiesel. A feasibility study was initiated to analyze which biodiesel blend of B20, B40, and B100 formulas works best for government-owned vehicles when compared with petroleum diesel. On community level the Department of Alternative Energy and Efficiency has supported the development of a prototype machine for the production of 50 liters biodiesel a day from crude palm oil. Another project was set up for the promotion of biodiesel in the transport sector with the aim to study, develop and demonstrate how biodiesel can be used alongside compressed natural gas for passenger vans and dual-fuel vehicles.
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CULTIVATION OF OIL PALM |
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A total of 200,000 rai of palm oil plantations as well as an oil mill with a capacity of 200,000 liters of palm oil a day have been built up in a pilot project by Krabi Oil Palm Farmer Cooperative. In another project, the Huai Mong Pilot Project, an experiment was successfully conducted to farm oil palm on 40,000 rai in the northeastern province of Nong Khai.
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BIODIESEL PROMOTION STRATEGY |
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In January 2005, the Energy Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives jointly developed a strategy to promote the use of biodiesel made from crude palm oil. The strategy aims to increase the daily biodiesel production to 8.5 million liters until 2012, which accounts for 10% of the petroleum diesel market share. At present, domestic diesel consumption is about 50 million liters per day, of which 1.5 million liters is B5 biodiesel. 75,000 liters of B100 are thus being blended with commercial diesel every day. The rest of the production amount is used in private sectors such as fleet vehicles in transportation.
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BIODIESEL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN |
In May 2005, the Energy Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives came together with the Ministry of Finance in order to derive a plan for the implementation of the crafted biodiesel strategy. On of the main targets in this plan is to mandate B5 biodiesel by 2011, which will require almost 4 million liters per day. The government has therefore started a program to grow five million rai of oil palms during the next five years. More recently, the Ministry of Energy has also already announced that by the 1st of April 2008 all high-speed diesel fuels are to contain 2% biodiesel (B2). By 2012, B10 is planned to be commercially available throughout Thailand. In addition, tax measures will make the price for biodiesel more attractive compared with petroleum diesel. Further planned measures will offer privileges to potential biodiesel manufacturers such as an exemption from the import duty of machines and an eight-year exemption of income tax.
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As a result of the strong governmental support, the most recent Biodiesel Attractiveness Index 2007 by ERNST & YOUNG, which measures the attractiveness of the top 15 global markets for investment in biodiesel, ranked Thailand on the 9th place with no other Asian country ahead. The index considers, on a weighted basis, offtake incentives (such as the level of mandatory blending targets, tax breaks and tax credits), overall tax climate, grants and soft loans for investments in biodiesel production, current production capacity installed in the country, domestic market growth potential, export potential as determined by location and free trade agreements, feedstock (energy yield, sustainability and price volatility), and project sizes.
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