Connecticut-based General Electric Co (GE) is maintaining its focus on expanding renewable energy in Thailand via wind and biogas conversion projects while looking for opportunities in high-efficiency power generation.
"We've been doing projects with local partners using our gas engine, which have gone well," Kovit Kantapasara, GE's president and chief executive for Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, told the Bloomberg Asean Business Summit recently.
He said more wind energy project deals were expected this month.
In March, GE created a distributed power business under GE Power & Water to focus on small and medium-scale power generation in the region, targeting small power producers and biomass gasification projects.
Compared with solar energy, wind power generation requires less land area to produce the same amount of electricity. This is essential because less land means less production cost passed on to consumers.
As Thailand is an agricultural country, allocating more land for solar power generation means less for agriculture usage.
Expansion of wind generating capacity will depend on government policy. As investors in Thailand want to see continual infrastructure development, policy clarity is important.
There is also a need to balance renewable and conventional energy sources, said Mr Kovit.
"Power generation in Thailand should focus on efficiency and clean energy, using existing dedicated land, because building new power plants has become increasingly difficult," he said.
GE is working with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to convert Bang Pakong power plant from thermal to combined cycle to increase its efficiency.
"A larger combined cycle means more efficiency and scalability," said Mr Kovit.
"Natural gas costs are high now and Thailand has to import a lot. We should use existing plants to make the highest amount of megawatts."
In Thailand, GE has oil and gas, power and water, power generation, healthcare, aviation and transportation units. Power and water and oil and gas sectors are the main source of revenue generation here.
Next year GE will focus on the transport sector, as the State Railway of Thailand is set to launch new projects that will require more locomotives.