Modelling the promotion of biomass use: A case study of Thailand

This study develops a computable general equilibrium model of the Thailand economy which features several energy-specific enhancements. The model is used to simulate a number of potential policies to achieve the Thai government’s biomass-generated electricity targets contained in its 15-year renewable energy development plan. Examples of simulations conducted with the model include increasing biomass-based electricity purchased from small and very small power producers and increasing other agricultural residue use in electricity generation. The results indicate that implementation of all of the biomass-based electricity promotion policies is likely to achieve the short-run target and reduce somewhat the importation of fuels. However, the policy causes a huge increase in prices of biomass. The sugarcane-based sectors are big winners, while the cassava-based sectors are big losers. The losses can, however, be partly mitigated by promoting other agricultural residue use in electricity generation.

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► This study develops a computable general equilibrium model for Thailand which is used to analyze the government’s renewable energy development plan.
► Policies simulated include increasing biomass-based electricity purchased from small scale power producers and increasing agricultural residue use in electricity generation.
► The results indicate that the short-term biomass-based electricity promotion targets are feasible and can reduce the importation of fuels.