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Energy Ministry tries to jump-start
shunned E85 fuel adoption
Krairit
Nilkhuha, director-general of the Department of Alternative Energy and
Energy Conservation, Ministry of Energy.
Phasakorn Channgam
With only 11 service stations offering 85 percent
ethanol-gasoline more than two years after its introduction, officials from
Thailand’s Energy Ministry made Pattaya the latest stop in their nationwide
road show to push adoption of the so-called E85.
Ministry alternative fuels chief Krairit Nilkhuha and
Rattanachai Sutidechanai, chairman of the Pattaya City Council’s Tourism &
Sports Committee hyped the advantages of E85 at the March 11 “Thai Heart for
Energy Conservation” exhibit at Central Festival Pattaya Beach.
Krairit said widespread adoption of the “flex-fuel” would
reduce Thailand’s dependence on oil imports and the impacts of global
warming while offering drivers better octane equivalents than more-popular
20 percent ethanol-gasoline mixes.
Both E20 and E85 - made with ethanol produced through
distillation of sugar cane and cassava - were introduced in Thailand in
2008. As of mid-2010, 161 E20 stations had opened with sales rising 60
percent since April 2009. By comparison, only 11 stations nationwide
currently sell E85, due largely to the fact engines have to be specially
designed to run E85 while most cars sold since 2009 are already E20
compatible.
None of the stations are located in the Pattaya-Sattahip
area.
Hoping to turn that around, the ministry’s Department of
Alternative Energy and Conservation has staged exhibits in Nakhon
Ratchasima, Songkla and other provinces. Krairit believes if more people
know the advantages of the high-content ethanol, more people will use it.
Topping the list of benefits is E85’s greatly reduced
carbon emissions, compared with pure gasoline. E85 also offers Thailand an
advantage in that 85 percent of each liter can be produced in Thailand,
rather than imported, he said. Finally, E85 offers higher octane equivalents
than E20 or gasoline with an 87 octane rating.
Critics, however, argue that while burning ethanol
creates fewer greenhouse gases, the extra energy required to produce it
negates any environmental benefit. Furthermore, while E85 may have high
octane ratings, the actual energy production is 12-25 percent less by
volume.
Finally, critics point out, E85 can only be used in
more-expensive, high-compression modified engines and if a driver were to
use straight gasoline in such an engine, it could likely cause severe
damage.
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Commerce Ministry pondering price rises for 4 products
Bangkok, 21 March (NNT) - The Commerce Ministry is
considering allowing prices of four products to float once the price pegging
measure expires at the end of this month due to their higher production costs.
After entrepreneurs requested price adjustments for soybean
oil, pasteurized milk, chemical fertilizers and steel, Commerce Minister
Pornthiva Nakasai said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had instructed her
ministry to make certain that any new prices correspond to the actual production
costs. Relevant subcommittees are now studying the price structures of the
products in order to decide whether such increases would be appropriate.
Ms Pornthiva, however, indicated a high tendency for price
hikes to be imposed on the four products in line with the more expensive raw
materials after the expiration of the price pegging policy on March 31. However,
in a bid to prevent significant impacts from the price increases on
agriculturalists and consumers, the Minister pointed out that a joint effort
among related ministries and organizations would be necessary.
As for sugar, currently sold at 23.50 THB per kilogram, Ms
Pornthiva noted that the collection of 5 THB a kilo towards the Cane and Sugar
Fund would come to an end in April or May and would thus allow the retail sugar
price to lower by at least 5 THB a kilo.
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UTCC: Middle East unrest will not prompt oil price to rise
Bangkok, 21 March (NNT) - Thanawat Polwichai, the
director of the Economic and Business Forecasting Centre at the University
of Thai Chamber of Commerce said that the UN attacks in Libya will not send
the price of crude oil above 120 US dollars per barrel but will bring peace
to the country.
According to Thanawat, despite the attacks in the
war-torn nation led by Britain, France and the United States forces, the
situation is expected to improve over time. The United Nations’ mission is
aimed at bringing peace to Libya and protecting refineries as Libya is among
important oil exporters to Europe.
The unrest in Libya has prompted the decline in oil
production from 1.6 million barrels to 800,000 barrels per day. Thanawat
added that the world was more concerned with the situation in Saudi Arabia
as one of the world’s biggest oil producers. Saudi Arabia is currently
serving as an alternative source of fuel for several countries since the
production capacity in Libya has declined significantly.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanich expressed
his concerns over the oil prices in Thailand while the unrest continued in
the Middle East. However, he added that this would be short lived and
promised to maintain the price of diesel at no more than 30 baht per liter.
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Thailand’s vehicle production not affected by Japan disasters
The Thailand Automotive Institute is confident that the
projected production of 600,000 vehicles this year will proceed as usual
although some parts must be imported from Japan, which was recently hit by a
major disaster.
Thailand Automotive Institute Director Wanlop Tiasiri voiced
his confidence that automobile production would not be suspended although some
important parts must be imported from Japan. He explained that not all factories
in Japan were damaged by the quake and tsunami.
Most of the factories in the auto industry in Japan are
located in the middle part of the country such as in Nagoya and below Tokyo
while those located in the tsunami-hit areas are only affiliated depots.
Wanlop elaborated that Japanese auto parts are usually
shipped to Thailand and it takes 15 days on each trip. However, the delivery can
be made by air if necessary. Hence he believed that vehicle production in
Thailand would not be affected.
The director added that Thailand has targeted to manufacture
600,000 cars, including eco-cars for Honda and Nissan while the production of
pick-up trucks will be using locally produced parts. He reaffirmed that the
planned production of 1.4 million pickup trucks this year will not be affected.
(NNT)
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Thailand to proceed with high speed rail project
Thailand’s Transport Minister Sophon Zarum on Monday said the
Thailand-China Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation has approved a draft
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the construction of a Bangkok-Nong Khai
high speed train route as proposed by his ministry.
The minister said the initial draft was approved by a joint
committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban. The working
committee on the project will initiate talks to conclude the MoU draft between
Thailand and China. Talks will also be held at the ministerial level.
Sophon added the completed draft will be proposed to Cabinet
and later forwarded for parliamentary approval. He gave assurances that all
processes will be done within the tenure of the Abhisit administration.
The 615-kilometre high speed train project will link the Thai
capital to Nong Khai, the northeastern province bordering Laos, with an
investment of Bt150 billion (US$50 billion).
Initially, the Transport Ministry plans the official signing
of the MoU to take place in mid-2011, with construction expected to begin at the
end of 2012 and open for serving the public in 2016. (MCOT online news)
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Sale of biodiesel B2 to proceed until palm oil shortage is solved
Bangkok, 21 March (NNT) - Oil retailers are encouraged
to continue selling biodiesel B2 instead of B3 until the domestic palm oil
supplies return to normal.
The Department of Energy Business of the Energy Ministry is
prepared to extend the distribution of biodiesel B2 indefinitely, from April 1
onwards, in compliance with the Cabinet resolution aimed at allowing the stock
of palm oil for household consumption in the country to rebound. The policy to
sell biodiesel B2 in place of B3 was initially set to remain in effect until the
end of this month.
However, the Ministry confirmed that locally-produced palm
oil in the market would reach its normal level soon while expecting the crude
palm oil stock in the nation after this month to total around 100,000 tons per
month.
Cooperation has been sought from private oil entrepreneurs to
continue offering biodiesel B2 at the pumps until further notice. The Energy
Ministry also assured them that there would not be another shortage of palm oil
in Thailand.
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