In May 2002, the cabinet approved regulations enabling very small power producers (VSPPs) to sell electricity to the grid. Since then, these innovative entrepreneurs have been creating electricity for their own operations, using agricultural or industrial waste, and then selling any excess power to the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) or to the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA). (Bangkok Post)

Opponents of the Salween hydro-power dam projects and the Karen ethnic group have renewed calls to scrap the projects after an Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand official was injured by a landmine at one dam site in Burmese territory. On Wednesday, Egat geologist Chana Mongplee stepped on a landmine at a campsite set up by Egat staff, who are working on feasibility study for the Hutgyi dam, opposite Mae Hong Son province. (Bangkok Post)

Fearing that it will face the same fate as Egat Plc, PTT Plc has pledged to separate its gas pipeline operations this year and has reiterated that there were no conflicts of interest regarding its privatisation. (ฺBangkok Post)

Since Thailand's present capacity for energy production is more than adequate, there's time to plan for power projects which leave a light footprint on the land and the people, writes SUPARA JANCHITFAH (Bangkok Post, Perspectives)

Energy Minister Viset Choopiban signed an agreement on May 30, 2005 with the Burmese Ministry of Electric Power to conduct a feasibility study on the multi-billion-baht venture on the Salween River. Minister Viset said a total of five hydropower dams can be built on the river with a combined capacity of 15,000 Megawatts. The four proposed dam sites are... (Bangkok Post, Perspectives)

PTT Plc's power to expropriate land for natural gas pipelines should be returned to the state, an economic expert has recommended. The government should also form a regulatory body to oversee land expropriation authorisation, said Piyasvasti Amranand, the chairman of Kasikorn Asset Management. (Bangkok Post)

The privatisation process of PTT Plc, formerly the Petroleum Authority of Thailand, was properly managed, says Piyasvasti Amranand, a former top energy technocrat. (Bangkok Post)

Two men on a wild and barren plain suddenly spy a huge bear charging towards them. One man immediately starts putting on his running shoes. "How futile!" the other exclaims, "you'll never outrun that bear!" His companion drily replies: "I don't need to outrun the bear." (Energy Pulse)

BANGKOK - Ending weeks of speculation, the Supreme Administrative Court on Tuesday delayed plans for the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to privatize, putting on hold a 31 billion baht (US$753 million) initial public offering (IPO). It would have been the largest share issuance of a state enterprise to date in Thailand. (Asia Times Online)

Share sale delayed, overseas road-show called off, privatisation program in doubt while court assesses decrees. The Supreme Admin-istrative Court yesterday put the brakes on the public sale of shares in Egat Plc, dealing a severe blow to the Thaksin government's privatisation programme. (The Nation)

The Supreme Administrative Court will make a landmark ruling today on whether an injunction will be issued to halt the initial public offering (IPO) of Egat shares in the wake of mounting public opposition by civil society groups. Egat Plc, formerly the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, is scheduled to be listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand tomorrow. (The Nation)

Pressure groups warn their fight against the listing of Egat Plc ``to the bitter end'' will jeopardise the potential for share profits and shrewd investors will steer clear. The organisations sent letters to most foreign missions in Thailand urging them to pass on the message to prospective investors in their countries that buying Egat shares, due for an initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday and Thursday, might not be a wise investment move. (Bangkok Post)

The government is revising rules for very small power producers (VSPP) to reward production of electricity from renewable sources. Metta Buntherngsook, director of the Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO), said the proposal, to be forwarded to Energy Minister Viset Choopiban for official endorsement, would increase the allowable purchase of renewable energy from one to six megawatts. (Bangkokpost)

One of the key mechanisms to enhance consistency and accountability of decision-makers in the energy sector is to have a separate, dedicated body which is responsible for regulatory decisions. Experiences across countries indicate that the institutional structure of a regulatory body separate or independent from the concerned energy ministry, leads to increased transparency and public participation in the energy sector decision-making. (Bangkok Post)

A Phoenix company signed a landmark deal with a major utility in California to develop the world's largest solar power facility. Stirling Energy Systems Inc. and Southern California Edison have entered into an agreement that would create a 7-square-mile solar farm in Southern California that by 2011 could power nearly 280,000 homes a year. Construction cost is estimated between $2 billion and $3 billion. (The Business Journal of Phoenix)

The hope that the scheme will pay off is based on the assumption that lots of cheap hydropower will be built in Laos, Burma and Yunnan. The problem is that no one knows what these hydropower projects will really cost. (Bangkok Post)

The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) and PTT Plc agreed yesterday to co-invest in a combined heat and power (CHP) system, hoping to supply both electricity and chilled water to customers in the power utility's service area. (Bangkok Post)

Net Metering Project highlighted as US-AEP success ()

The government's sluggish pace on implementing alternative energy policies is causing citizens to take a more active role (Bangkok Post)

In the years to come, the Ministry of Energy and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) will certainly face a tough task if they plan on continuing to supply the nation's energy by constructing more and more mega projects. (Bangkok Post)

At first glance, Bangkok's latest Tesco Lotus outlet on Rama I Road in Pathumwan looks just like any of the dozens of others that the British retailer has built _ a low-rise concrete block painted creamy white with large plate glass windows all around. But from a bird's-eye view, the building's high-tech touches become visible. Slightly over half of its roof area, about the size of three football pitches combined, is covered with hundreds of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy panels. (Bangkok Post)

With the impact of oil prices likely to be seen soon in consumers' electricity bills, attention is focused once more on finding other sources of energy. There has been much talk about alternative fuels such as gasohol, liquefied petroleum gas and bio-diesel from coconuts and palm oil. But these too depend on finite resources. The sun provides the only free, clean and limitless energy. (Bangkok Post)

Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (EGAT) with King Mongkut's Institute of Technology of North Bangkok is developing and building micro-hydroturbines which can harness water in existing irrigation weirs to generate electricity. In the next 2 years, the first 10 kW micro-hydroturbines will be produced as planned. (KomChadLuek)

Two brothers of Charoemchaivinijkul family have developed electricity generators using biogas as their fuel. The latest one they invented produces 330 horsepower, able to run continuously 8-10 hours per day and its cost is incredibly 5 times cheaper than imported generators. A pig farm in Prachinbuti is testing the engine. (Kom Chad Luek)

To support the use of renewable energy, the Department of Energy Business (DOEB), proposed the time required to apply for a concession to generate electricity be reduced for renewable energy generators. This will encourage more investments in electricity generation business. (Bangkok Business News)

Thailand has recently introduced net metering legislation that provides streamlined procedures for small renewable energy generators to connect to the grid, and guarantees both a market and good prices. The new laws create income opportunities for rural communities based on locally produced, clean, renewable energy supplies and offer significant potential to reduce Thailand's dependence on imported oil and coal. (ReFOCUS)

In a gated community just outside the teeming megalopolis of Bangkok, Soontorn Boonyatikarn's three-bedroom home appears much like any other, with the solar panelling on the roof the only hint that something out of the ordinary lies beneath. Soontorn calls this home a blueprint for sustainable living in the tropics: the unassuming house is 15 times more energy efficient than its neighbours, produces enough surplus electricity to power a car and creates its own water-supply and cooking gas. (Bangkok Post)

Mae Kampong Electricity Cooperative had successfully connected its micro-hydroelectricity to the grid of Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) in a trial run and was ready to sell its surplus energy to the utlity. But some existing laws prevent the cooperation from earning 10,000 Baht a month from the potential sale. (Prachadharma News)

US utilities are hooking up to biogas generation from anaerobic biogas digestors. Pennsylvania Power & Light, Alliant Energy, Wisconsin Electric and Portland General Electric are plugging into energy from livestock waste -- and cleaning up the enviroment and providing income to rural farmers at the same time. (BioCycle Journal of Composting & Organics Recycling)

Not too long ago Somchai Nitikanchana, the proud owner of 40,000 pigs, was an unpopular guy in his neighbourhood. Six years ago, tired of being the local pariah in Paktho, Ratchburi province, 100 kilometres west of Bangkok, Somchai looked into a new technology promoted by Chiang Mai University that promised to take the stink out of pig farming, and create some biogas in the process. (DigitalJournal.com)