Thailand predicted to dominate renewables capacity growth in SEA

Government eyes cutting reliance on imported natural gas.

Thailand will be an outperformer in the Southeast Asia region in terms of total installed renewables capacity over the coming decade according to BMI Research.

The supportive regulatory environment, improving access to financing, favourable natural conditions for renewables and headwinds to developments in the conventional power sector are all paving the way for significant investment into the Thai renewables sector.

Thailand's non-hydropower renewables industry has grown rapidly over the last five years, driven by the government's implementation of a supportive regulatory environment for renewable energy, which includes a feed-in tariff, bidding programmes for renewables capacity and tax incentives.

Here's more from BMI Research:

The rationale behind the creation of this favourable investment environment for renewables is the government's desire to diversify the country's power mix. Policymakers aim at reducing Thailand's heavy reliance on imported natural gas (which currently accounts for about 70% of total generation) and incorporate alternative sources into the mix - including nuclear, coal, imports and non-hydro renewable energy - as part of the Power Development Plan 2015.

In line with the government's efforts, non-hydro renewables capacity has increased from 1,780 megawatts (MW) in 2010 to just over 6,000MW in 2016, primarily due to the development of solar and biomass power plants.