The Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate and its deep-sea port in Rayong will be developed to have a clean new look under a plan to replace fossil fuel-derived energy with renewable energy to serve growing demand among companies committed to carbon dioxide reduction, says the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT).
"We are interested in using clean energy from various sources in the estate, including biomass, biogas, solar and wind energy as well as a small modular reactors [SMRs]," said Yuthasak Supasorn, chairman of the IEAT board.
An SMR is a type of nuclear reactor, with a capacity of up to 300 megawatts per unit, about one-third of the generating capacity of larger, traditional nuclear reactors.
Nuclear reactors have gained attention from energy authorities because they can operate without producing air pollution or carbon dioxide emissions.
Mr Yuthasak said the IEAT needs to plan for new power supply management because companies, especially those owned by new investors, want their operations to be 100% fuelled by clean energy.
"Investors have asked the IEAT about its plan to promote the use of clean energy as they want to avoid problems that may affect their businesses," he said.
One problem they often mention is non-tariff barriers, notably the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) imposed by the European Union.
The transitional phase of the CBAM, which began in October last year, requires importers of iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser, electricity and hydrogen to report greenhouse gas emissions embedded in their imports without being subject to financial payments or adjustments.
Importers are scheduled to pay a levy for CBAM certificates from Jan 1, 2026.
This could be an opportunity for the IEAT to invest in renewable energy projects to better serve investors, said Mr Yuthasak.
Meanwhile, the IEAT and the Eastern Economic Corridor Office are co-developing a "circular industrial estate" on a 5,000 rai plot in Chon Buri to support industries such as electric vehicles and battery recycling.
The new industrial estate is in line with the government's bio, circular and green model, which encourages manufacturers to adopt techniques that add value to their products with minimum environmental impact.