Govt. vows to find alternative sources of energy to reduce imports

[Lite Beer]

Govt. vows to find alternative sources of energy to reduce imports

BANGKOK, 27 June 2015 (NNT) - Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has affirmed the government’s commitment to develop alternative energy and reduce import dependence.

The pledge was made during his weekly broadcast program ‘Return happiness to the people’, during which he told the public that Thailand possesses many untapped energy sources waiting for exploration. He said laws will be updated to facilitate the move.

General Prayut expressed his concern over the nation’s reliance on natural gas and fuel oil as the country’s main energy sources, saying at the moment the government spends a massive amount of budget on energy imports to satisfy high demand from both transportation and household consumption.

Currently Thailand uses gas and oil in 70 percent of the Kingdom’s electricity generation.

He stressed Thailand would need to keep a balanced approach to the production of each kind of alternative energy, otherwise it would negatively affect investment in the future.

-- NNT 2015-06-27

[halloween]

Hopefully they will seek advice from people with knowledge rather than opinions.

BTW no different from many countries. Finding a big deposit of anthracite could help.

Edited June 27, 2015 by halloween

[JoePai]

Thailand possesses many untapped energy sources waiting for exploration

I'll give him a clue, look up - it's called the sun

[Reigntax]

Well general thainess and the cohorts produce enough daily bullsh#t to fuel the worlds largest methane generation plant.

[soalbundy]

lots of untapped brain energy here

[Srikcir]

The government plans to build nine coal-fired power plants using mainly imported coal.

How does that considered an alternative energy source and reduce imports?

[halloween]

The government plans to build nine coal-fired power plants using mainly imported coal.

How does that considered an alternative energy source and reduce imports?

Coal is an alternative to gas and fuel oil, right? It is also cheaper reducing COST of imports.

[eliotness]

Fill the Gulf of Thailand with wind mills, that'll attract tourists NOT.

[kovaltech]

Hopefully they will seek advice from people with knowledge rather than opinions.

BTW no different from many countries. Finding a big deposit of anthracite could help.

They have ... a lot...

[kovaltech]

Thailand possesses many untapped energy sources waiting for exploration

I'll give him a clue, look up - it's called the sun

After nuclear power, solar panels are the biggest Co2 producers in the world... from well to wheel, from cradle to grave...

How much energy is spent, Co2 generated, for the production of one unit electricity ?

How much waste is generated from mining the raw materials for Nuclear and Solar ?

The hidden debate....

Starting with Waste to energy is one solution... using all wasted energy is another... many solutions are there, but only so little knowledge to use it...

It should start with education...

Grow your own tree's, use that as energy source... you want examples ? lets debate...

[halloween]

Hopefully they will seek advice from people with knowledge rather than opinions.

BTW no different from many countries. Finding a big deposit of anthracite could help.

They have ... a lot...

Wrong on both counts. They have a (singular) lignite mine producing 20 million tonnes per year. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Thailand_and_coal

Lignite is brown coal which is slightly better than burning rocks IMHO. Anthracite is that black shiny stuff half way to being a diamond, full of high energy benzene rings and other aromatics. It has 2.5+ times the energy of lignite while producing far less pollutants.

Edited June 27, 2015 by halloween

[Loptr]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191754-cold-fusion-reactor-verified-by-third-party-researchers-seems-to-have-1-million-times-the-energy-density-of-gasoline

[rametindallas]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191754-cold-fusion-reactor-verified-by-third-party-researchers-seems-to-have-1-million-times-the-energy-density-of-gasoline

LFTRs in 5 minutes - Thorium Reactors https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK367T7h6ZY

Nuclear power that can run unattended, buried underground, and refueled every 20 years. One reactor, the size of a 40' shipping container, can power 5,000 US homes, so no need for long transmission lines. 99% efficient and the waste has a half-life measured in decades. The fuel is cheap and is a by-product of mining rare-earth minerals.

The only thing stopping implementation of any of these clean, cheap alternatives is the bribe money paid to politicians by the companies already heavily invested in current technologies.

.

Edited June 27, 2015 by rametindallas

[eliotness]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191754-cold-fusion-reactor-verified-by-third-party-researchers-seems-to-have-1-million-times-the-energy-density-of-gasoline

No nuclear fusion reactors are as yet commercially available and would you feel safe living near one in Thailand ??????

[eliotness]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191754-cold-fusion-reactor-verified-by-third-party-researchers-seems-to-have-1-million-times-the-energy-density-of-gasoline

LFTRs in 5 minutes - Thorium Reactors

Nuclear power that can run unattended, buried underground, and refueled every 20 years. One reactor, the size of a 40' shipping container, can power 5,000 US homes, so no need for long transmission lines. 99% efficient and the waste has a half-life measured in decades. The fuel is cheap and is a by-product of mining rare-earth minerals.

The only thing stopping implementation of any of these clean, cheap alternatives is the bribe money paid to politicians by the companies already heavily invested in current technologies.

.

There are drawbacks to consider, check Wikipedia, so not quite the simple solution you suggest.

[Loptr]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191754-cold-fusion-reactor-verified-by-third-party-researchers-seems-to-have-1-million-times-the-energy-density-of-gasoline

No nuclear fusion reactors are as yet commercially available and would you feel safe living near one in Thailand ??????

There is very little to no risk with the technology described in the article I posted... The same goes for Thorium reactors as posted above... If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, then do some research into free-energy technology and it's suppression...

[kovaltech]

If with all these , well educated, posters on TVF. is so little knowledge or awareness, how could you expect from Thailand to make the "right" choices ?

Nuclear... How much or how big is the Co2 footprint ? as reminder for a law off physics: the input of energy has always been bigger then the output...

Same go's for diesel or gasoline...

How many , unused, byproducts ? Nuclear waste ?

How many scandals we have seen ? Cover ups for pollutions by big company's ? How many company's or governments haven't been involved ?

As one poster mentioned... free energy... There is no "free" energy... but... you can try to use wasted energy ....

From every gallon or liter, consumed by your car, 60% goes up in the heat and exhaust... not to mention the amount of Co2 produced, being it the least harmful substance from an internal combustion engine ... ( 1 Kg fuel produces 2,5 kg Co2 )

You want to teach Thailand how to do it right ? Then don't use meaningless words, show the real good things...

[eliotness]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191754-cold-fusion-reactor-verified-by-third-party-researchers-seems-to-have-1-million-times-the-energy-density-of-gasoline

No nuclear fusion reactors are as yet commercially available and would you feel safe living near one in Thailand ??????

There is very little to no risk with the technology described in the article I posted... The same goes for Thorium reactors as posted above... If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, then do some research into free-energy technology and it's suppression...

No rabbit hole just facts. No method of energy production is without it's drawbacks. A balanced mix of means of production, with appropriate life cycle analysis and environmental impact assessments, is what is desirable, but what so few countries manage to achieve. You are of course correct in implying that big business has vested interests in only certain types of generation and they lobby politicians to ensure their profits are maintained. It is not a fair world and never will be.

[eliotness]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191754-cold-fusion-reactor-verified-by-third-party-researchers-seems-to-have-1-million-times-the-energy-density-of-gasoline

You are on about cold fusion reactors I presume. From what I've just read in Wikipedia (sorry but I had to check just to get my facts correct) it's not (yet) a proven technology.

The last thing Thailand needs is to dabble in state of the art research. They need reliable, low maintenance, cost effective means of energy production now.

[kovaltech]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191754-cold-fusion-reactor-verified-by-third-party-researchers-seems-to-have-1-million-times-the-energy-density-of-gasoline

You are on about cold fusion reactors I presume. From what I've just read in Wikipedia (sorry but I had to check just to get my facts correct) it's not (yet) a proven technology.

The last thing Thailand needs is to dabble in state of the art research. They need reliable, low maintenance, cost effective means of energy production now.

exact, SSS is whats needed... SSS stands for, Simple, Sound and Solid

The most easy going systems have always been proven the most efficient..

Old knowledge, with some new technology... it works as a charm, no need for import technology...

The question arises, why did we forgot what our ancestors did and knew so long ago ? answer... we are lazy ;-)

Try to follow my effort in helping people, to generate their own fuel... support with your knowledge, most appreciated...

www.facebook.com/renewableenergythailand if you see the groups , working already in Thailand and their wonderful idea's...

No need for Nucleus, or fission... just show them how you can do... no money involved, only advices and showing how it can be done...

[wabothai]

May be start using less energy. Start with lowering the output of airconditioners.

[kovaltech]

May be start using less energy. Start with lowering the output of airconditioners.

that might be the utmost sensefull thing to do...

But, how can we generate energy, not only using less, but really generate...

I give as example: Nigeria, not due to shortage but they are having a huge problem with their energy... They have to import oil but have their own crude oil...

They have huge problems and to little solutions...

How would you do, by yourself, if the oil is not there... if no more electricity from your wall socket ? If you live in a remote area...

and money has no meaning anymore...

What source of energy would you use ?

How could you or your knowledge help your community ?

Edited June 27, 2015 by kovaltech

[wabothai]

May be start using less energy. Start with lowering the output of airconditioners.

that might be the utmost sensefull thing to do...

But, how can we generate energy, not only using less, but really generate...

I give as example: Nigeria, not due to shortage but they are having a huge problem with their energy... They have to import oil but have their own crude oil...

They have huge problems and to little solutions...

How would you do, by yourself, if the oil is not there... if no more electricity from your wall socket ? If you live in a remote area...

and money has no meaning anymore...

What source of energy would you use ?

How could you or your knowledge help your community ?

wind and solar. In stead of spending 1 billion dollars on stupid Chinese submarines, provide communities with solar panels and mini windturbines. And by the way who cares what I say, I have tried, but in vein.

[kovaltech]

May be start using less energy. Start with lowering the output of airconditioners.

that might be the utmost sensefull thing to do...

But, how can we generate energy, not only using less, but really generate...

I give as example: Nigeria, not due to shortage but they are having a huge problem with their energy... They have to import oil but have their own crude oil...

They have huge problems and to little solutions...

How would you do, by yourself, if the oil is not there... if no more electricity from your wall socket ? If you live in a remote area...

and money has no meaning anymore...

What source of energy would you use ?

How could you or your knowledge help your community ?

wind and solar. In stead of spending 1 billion dollars on stupid Chinese submarines, provide communities with solar panels and mini windturbines. And by the way who cares what I say, I have tried, but in vein.

Wind and solar... words... show me how you do it...

With 100 rai, planted with bamboo, i can generate 200 Kwh 24/24 7/7 electric power, can be done in the community, by the people off the community...

no need for import, no need for deep pockets and big company's...

Green waste as secondary fuel...

Waste plastic as supplementary fuel...

even can reuse the Co2 into energy...

All done with material local available ...

[silent]

Hopefully they will seek advice from people with knowledge rather than opinions.

BTW no different from many countries. Finding a big deposit of anthracite could help.

They have ... a lot...

Wrong on both counts. They have a (singular) lignite mine producing 20 million tonnes per year. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Thailand_and_coal

Lignite is brown coal which is slightly better than burning rocks IMHO. Anthracite is that black shiny stuff half way to being a diamond, full of high energy benzene rings and other aromatics. It has 2.5+ times the energy of lignite while producing far less pollutants.

For sure it's crucial for Thailand to maintain old dependencies on non-renewable energy sources and look into different ways of reinventing wheels while looking at the surrounding water and inland waterways for more important concerns like submarine toys

"Hydrokinetic technologies producing renewable electricity by harnessing the kinetic energy of a body of water and the energy that results from its motion. Since water is 832 times denser than air, our tides, waves, ocean currents, and free-flowing rivers represent an untapped, powerful, highly-concentrated and clean energy resource"

(from Union of concerned Scientists, How Hydrokinetic Energy Works)

[eliotness]

May be start using less energy. Start with lowering the output of airconditioners.

that might be the utmost sensefull thing to do...

But, how can we generate energy, not only using less, but really generate...

I give as example: Nigeria, not due to shortage but they are having a huge problem with their energy... They have to import oil but have their own crude oil...

They have huge problems and to little solutions...

How would you do, by yourself, if the oil is not there... if no more electricity from your wall socket ? If you live in a remote area...

and money has no meaning anymore...

What source of energy would you use ?

How could you or your knowledge help your community ?

wind and solar. In stead of spending 1 billion dollars on stupid Chinese submarines, provide communities with solar panels and mini windturbines. And by the way who cares what I say, I have tried, but in vein.

Wind and solar... words... show me how you do it...

With 100 rai, planted with bamboo, i can generate 200 Kwh 24/24 7/7 electric power, can be done in the community, by the people off the community...

no need for import, no need for deep pockets and big company's...

Green waste as secondary fuel...

Waste plastic as supplementary fuel...

even can reuse the Co2 into energy...

All done with material local available ...

I've seen in remote farms in the Karoo in South Africa, where farms with no access to a mains supply, have a bank of solar panels and a windmill. Sure they need a diesel generator as back-up, but it is looking much more sustainable than here in Thailand. If you mix that technology with village biofuel generation, as you suggest, then you would be well on the way for rural sustainability. I feel the government investing in such ideas would benefit the rural population much more than throwing millions of baht at agriculture, when it's the big land owners and middlemen who seem to get all the money. Not too sure about burning plastic waste though as you'll need to achieve a higher temp to minimise toxins. Much better to push a anti-plastic bag campaign.

[soalbundy]

May be start using less energy. Start with lowering the output of airconditioners.

You can't afford one i presume.

[Soutpeel]

I've seen in remote farms in the Karoo in South Africa, where farms with no access to a mains supply, have a bank of solar panels and a windmill. Sure they need a diesel generator as back-up, but it is looking much more sustainable than here in Thailand. If you mix that technology with village biofuel generation, as you suggest, then you would be well on the way for rural sustainability. I feel the government investing in such ideas would benefit the rural population much more than throwing millions of baht at agriculture, when it's the big land owners and middlemen who seem to get all the money. Not too sure about burning plastic waste though as you'll need to achieve a higher temp to minimise toxins. Much better to push a anti-plastic bag campaign.

But of course one could add, if the stories are true we will be seeing fracking for shale gas in the the Karoo in the near future, as its reputed to be the 8th largest reserve of shale gas in the world

[eliotness]

I've seen in remote farms in the Karoo in South Africa, where farms with no access to a mains supply, have a bank of solar panels and a windmill. Sure they need a diesel generator as back-up, but it is looking much more sustainable than here in Thailand. If you mix that technology with village biofuel generation, as you suggest, then you would be well on the way for rural sustainability. I feel the government investing in such ideas would benefit the rural population much more than throwing millions of baht at agriculture, when it's the big land owners and middlemen who seem to get all the money. Not too sure about burning plastic waste though as you'll need to achieve a higher temp to minimise toxins. Much better to push a anti-plastic bag campaign.

But of course one could add, if the stories are true we will be seeing fracking for shale gas in the the Karoo in the near future, as its reputed to be the 8th largest reserve of shale gas in the world

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your view on fracking, the South African governments gross incompetence

and the fall in the price of oil has put that on hold. I guess, from experience the ANC will ignore any protests from the farmers (who are mainly white Afrikaners) and environmentalists should the likes of Shell renew their interest.

Just as an aside if the posters think Thailand's governments are bad, Southern African countries have suffered for many decades from a scale of corrupt and/or incompetence that was, and still is mind-blowing.

[Soutpeel]

I've seen in remote farms in the Karoo in South Africa, where farms with no access to a mains supply, have a bank of solar panels and a windmill. Sure they need a diesel generator as back-up, but it is looking much more sustainable than here in Thailand. If you mix that technology with village biofuel generation, as you suggest, then you would be well on the way for rural sustainability. I feel the government investing in such ideas would benefit the rural population much more than throwing millions of baht at agriculture, when it's the big land owners and middlemen who seem to get all the money. Not too sure about burning plastic waste though as you'll need to achieve a higher temp to minimise toxins. Much better to push a anti-plastic bag campaign.

But of course one could add, if the stories are true we will be seeing fracking for shale gas in the the Karoo in the near future, as its reputed to be the 8th largest reserve of shale gas in the world

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your view on fracking, the South African governments gross incompetence

and the fall in the price of oil has put that on hold. I guess, from experience the ANC will ignore any protests from the farmers (who are mainly white Afrikaners) and environmentalists should the likes of Shell renew their interest.

Just as an aside if the posters think Thailand's governments are bad, Southern African countries have suffered for many decades from a scale of corrupt and/or incompetence that was, and still is mind-blowing.

given the load shedding going on, they need to do something, ESKOM the biggest power supplier at one time on the African continent cant keep the lights on a home these days