Thai Energy Minister Dr. Wannarat Channukul to Open Clean Power Asia in Bangkok in June

Bangkok, Thailand, April 17, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Thailand’s minister of Energy, Dr. Wannarat Channukul, will deliver the welcome address at Clean Power Asia in Bangkok in June, when global power industry professionals, regional regulators, financiers and investors and technology providers will gather for the largest regional power conference and exhibition that will focus on both renewable and cleaner fossil power.

Untapped renewable potential
“It is clear that Southeast Asia offers large potential for renewable energy sources, most still untapped,” says Elly Kreijkes, Clean Power Asia project director, “given the region’s rapid economic growth, increasing energy demand, growing environmental pressures, low rural electrification levels, and heavy reliance on fossil fuels and traditional biomass.”

She continues: “The ASEAN-6 countries are diverse in terms of their renewable potential when calculated on a per-capita or per-GDP basis. In absolute terms, Indonesia, for example, has the highest total realisable potential for renewables across all sectors; in per-capita terms, Malaysia has the largest renewable electricity potential; and Vietnam shows the highest potential for renewable electricity in terms of its level of economic development.”

According to Clean Power Asia’s Elly Kreijkes some countries have above average per-capita potential levels relative to their population share; “for example, Malaysia for renewable electricity and Singapore for renewable heat (especially solar thermal). Thailand and Malaysia have similar renewable electricity potential, but Thailand’s per-capita GDP level is half that of Malaysia. Nonetheless, Thailand has implemented much more ambitious targets and incentive mechanisms than Malaysia.”

Reality of the current utility energy mix
Elly Kreijkes notes that: “Although the current events in Japan have certainly brought home again the dangers of nuclear power generation, all governments have been facing the challenge of securing energy supply and optimizing the energy mix in a more environmentally friendly way in order to meet the targets set by the Kyoto Protocol. Given the fact that the majority of power production still comes from conventional and only a small, albeit growing, percentage comes from renewable, there is a real need to reduce CO2 emission on the conventional side.”

She explains that Clean Power Asia will provide a platform to exchange valuable feedback with regards to renewable and cleaner fossil power projects in the region, from technology to finance to implementation: “Thailand is very advanced in their renewable energy policy and initiatives so other countries will learn from this. The solar development in Thailand, bioenergy and hydro power developments in Malaysia, geothermal developments in Indonesia and cleaner fossil power projects in India and China will provide excellent opportunities for countries to learn from each other.

Clean Power Asia will present more than 20 case studies from countries such as Thailand, China, Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, India, Pakistan and Iran, including:

Renewable power:
- China WindPower plans to build and operate up to 800 MW of new wind farms by 2012
- Keys to success from Southeast Asia’s largest solar power plant project in Thailand
- Optimizing Hydropower generation in peninsula Malaysia – TNB’s Green Energy Initiatives
- Update on the Wayang Windu Project in Indonesia
- Landhi Bio Gas, Karachi – The largest bio waste to energy project in Pakistan

Cleaner fossil power generation:
· Environmental considerations related to the development and implementation of the 660MW coal-fired power plant project in Thailand (Gheco-One)
· Successful cleaner fossil fuel coal based power plant development: the Tianjin IGCC project in China

Leading government and industry experts on the programme include:

-- Sutat Patmasiriwat, Governor, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), Thailand
-- Pongsakorn Tantiwanichanon, Deputy Governor Planning and System Development, Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), Thailand
-- Luluk Sumiarso, Director General of New and Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia
-- Dato’ Ir. Azman Bin Mohd, COO, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Malaysia
-- Dr. Direk Lavansiri, Chairman, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Thailand
-- Ir. Ahmad Fauzi Hasan, CEO, Energy Commission, Malaysia
-- Luluk Sumiarso, Director General for New and Renewable Energy and Conservation, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia
-- Mr Nguyen Ninh Hai, Renewable Energy Expert, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam
-- Xaypaseuth Phomsoupha, Director General, Department of Energy Promotion and Development, Ministry of Energy and Mines, Lao PDR
-- Atty. Maria Floreselda Abalos-Sampaga, Chief Officer Legal Department, Energy Regulatory Commission, Philippines
-- Ir. Ahmad Fauzi Hasan, CEO, Energy Commission, Malaysia
-- Maaike Göbel, Manager, Southeast Asia and Pacific Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), Australia
-- Nur Pamudji Director for Primary Energy, PT PLN (Persero), Indonesia

Event dates: Conference dates: 28-29 June, Site visits: 30 June
Event location: Intercontinental Hotel, 973 Ploenchit Road, Bangkok, Thailand

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