WIND STUDY SLOWS DOWN ALTERNATIVE-ENERGY PLAN

       Implementation of the 15-year alternative-energy development plan is proceeding more slowly than planned, as the government has just commissioned a feasibility study of the potential to use wind in power generation, according to the Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Department.
       "Private companies have proposed the sale of as much as 1,800 megawatts of electricity generated by wind. But only 160MW has been bought," director-general Krairit Nilkuha said yesterday.
       Krairit said the department had hired Silpakorn University to conduct a study of wind speeds in order to determine where wind-power plants should be located. The university has previously conducted similar studies in Cambodia and Vietnam.
       "It will take nine months to conduct the study. And this may rather delay implementation of the master plan as scheduled," he said.
       The alternative-energy development plan covers the period from 2008 to 2022.
       He added that companies had proposed the sale of 1,800MW of wind-generated electricity to the Provincial Electricity Authority, against the agency's target of 800MW over the next 15 years. However, to date only 160MW have been purchased.
       "We have to study the potential for wind power again, as there has been no study of the potential to harness wind at a level above 40 metres from the ground. We're now studying the wind-speed potential at 90 metres above the ground," said Krairit.
       However, the Energy Ministry is confident there will be an overall reduction in fuel oil consumption of 20 per cent a year through all types of alternative energy - equivalent to 7.5 million tonnes or Bt180 billion annually - by 2011, he said.
       The department is also studying the country's solar potential by hiring Silpakorn University for Bt10 million to conduct a study, which is expected to be completed in the next 10 months.
       Besides, he said, the department would focus on continuous promotion of energy conservation.
       Next year, it will use Bt2 billion from the Energy Conservation Fund to support research-and-development projects for improving production processes in the industrial sector.
       As to tax privileges for the energy-conservation project's second phase, Krairit said there were 138 participants. Of the total, 134 have been approved and 100 given funding support.