Business leaders and farm communities want the next energy minister to continue the Energy for All renewable power scheme, which took effect last year under the previous holder of the post, Sontirat Sontijirawong, who recently resigned.
The scheme envisions private investors co-investing with farm communities in biomass-fired power plants at a combined capacity of 1,000 megawatts over the next three years.
The first year of Energy for All was carried out under the Quick Win scheme, with capacity of 100MW. Quick Win is aimed at inviting power plants currently under construction or those yet to begin commercial operations to join the scheme.
Officials were preparing to call for bids under Energy for All when fractions in the ruling Palang Pracharath Party emerged and several key officials resigned.
UAC Global Plc chief executive Chatchaphol Prasopchoke said the scheme received a warm welcome from many community leaders.
He said that if the conditions for participation and business model are well designed, they will result in a good return for communities.
But many experts are concerned about the huge surplus of power generation capacity reserved, currently near 45%. This caused a need to reduce power capacity under Energy for All during the first year.
An appropriate power reserve is estimated at 20-25%.
UAC Global Plc, which owns two biogas-fired power plants in Khon Kaen, each at 3MW of capacity, is ready to take part in the scheme.
BCPG, the renewable power arm of Bangchak Corporation Plc, is discussing feasibility studies with several communities on fast-growing trees to feed power plants.
President and chief executive Bundit Sapianchai said power tariffs should be set at five baht per kilowatt-hour in order to run plants with sufficient profitability.
Natee Sithiprasasana, a representative of the Federation of Thai Industries' renewable energy club, said many communities intend to take part in the programme because they hope to use their extra revenue to rely less on single-crop planting amid frequent droughts in the past several decades.
Communities in Chiang Mai's Mae Chaem district and Prachuap Khiri Khan's Thap Sakae district have been selected for pilot projects, each at 3MW of capacity, with development led by the state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.
Last week, eight communities from the East and Northeast gathered to submit a petition to the Energy Ministry, urging the prospective appointee to continue the project.
Naruechon Preuksa, head of a cow feeder community in Nakhon Ratchasima's Chum Phuang district, said her community depends heavily on cows and hopes to gain extra revenue from growing napier grass for biogas-based power generation.
"The grass fits the drought environment in my community," Mrs Naruechon said. "We can also sell it to biogas projects."