On 4 and 5 October 2022, delegates from Suruhanjaya Tenaga (ST) and Single Buyer had technical meetings with the Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO) of Ministry of Energy Thailand and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) respectively in Bangkok, Thailand. The objectives of these technical meetings are to gain better understanding of the governance and regulatory framework for Thailand electricity supply industry and to learn firsthand on how long-term load forecast and generation planning is being carried out in Thailand, the methodology and processes involved. Other topics also discussed during the meetings were the renewable energy potential and programmes offered in Thailand, as well as latest update to the development of its cross-border interconnections with neighbouring countries.
Subsequent to the meetings, delegates visited the Lamtakong Jolabha Vadhana Hydropower Plant on 6 October 2022 which is situated in Nakhon Ratchasima, about three-hour drive northeastern of Bangkok. This underground power plant houses Thailand’s first hydropower pump storage with total installed capacity of 1, 000 MW (4x250MW units). The power plant uses power from the system during the low demand, which was after midnight until morning, to pump the water from the lower reservoir and store in the new upper reservoir on Yai Tieng Mountain before releasing the water through the generator to generate electricity during the peak demand. The upper reservoir of this plant has the capacity of around 10.3 million cubic meters.
There are also 12 onshore wind turbines with a net installed capacity of 26.5MW within the vicinity of the power plant, hybrid with hydrogen technology. The Lamtakhong Wind Hydrogen Hybrid Project, uses wind energy to produce hydrogen that is then stored in hydrogen fuel cell and used to supply electricity to EGAT’s Learning Center, an energy neutral building on site.
The technical meetings and site visit had provided great insights and beneficial information to the delegates and help to form better cooperation with Thailand in the future.
Figure 1: Delegates at Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO) of Ministry of Energy Thailand
Figure 2: Delegates at Electricity Generating Authority Thailand (EGAT) Office
Figure 3: Delegates went for a site visit to Lamtakong Jolabha Vadhana hydropower pump storage
Figure 4: Delegates visited the onshore wind farm near Lamtakong
