IFC backs Thailand's quest for clean energy

Thailand's goal of utilizing clean sources of energy for about a quarter of the country's energy needs by 2021 got thesupport of the IFC.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will work with Thailand's Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, which is part of the Ministry of Energy, to review the country's legal and regulatory framework and design business models that will reduce market barriers and support the development of clean energy.

It will focus on wind and solar power.

The IFC will assist the department in seeking input from other government agencies and stakeholders on how to refine renewable-energy policies and regulations.

"Although Thailand has enacted renewable-energy legislation, investors are still facing barriers when they invest in renewable-|energy projects," said Ian Crosby, the IFC's sustainable business advisory manager for East Asia and the Pacific.

"IFC's cooperation with the Thai government will help push for greater use of renewable and alternative energy, and increase private-sector participation."

Thailand currently relies on expensive imports to supply more than 60 per cent of its primary commercial energy needs. As one of the world's 25 top emitters, the Kingdom hopes to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by substituting traditional energy with renewable sources.

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