A plan to phase out coal-fired power generation offers a new business opportunity for SET-listed TPI Polene Power (TPIPP), Thailand's largest waste-to-energy developer, aiming to increase renewable power sales to customers in the industrial sector.
Growing concerns over the impact of non-tariff barriers imposed by the European Union (EU) on carbon-intensive manufacturing are causing factory operators to avoid using electricity derived from fossil fuels.
TPIPP plans to gradually abandon coal usage at its power plants by 2026, depending solely on renewable resources from 2027, said Pakkapol Leopairut, executive vice-president for accounting and finance.
The company's total power generation capacity from renewables facilities, such as waste-to-energy (WTE) power plants and solar farms, is expected to increase to 541 megawatts in 2027, up from 493MW in 2024.
Last year, coal made up 30% of fuels used for power generation, with the remaining 70% coming from renewable sources, said Mr Pakkapol.
TPIPP's gradual reduction of coal usage began in 2022 when it set a goal to fully use renewable resources as fuels at its power plants.
The company earlier announced a plan to spend 15.4 billion baht to support its non-coal strategy.
Lower use of coal will not affect TPIPP's total power supply because the company will upgrade WTE power plants and develop new WTE projects.
The company plans to sell renewable power directly to factories located near its WTE power generation facility in Saraburi, which is known as Thailand's cement manufacturing base, said Worawit Lerdbussarakam, vice-president of TPIPP.
Cement is among the industries which face mounting pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The EU is adopting the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in a transitional phase, which 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 have to pay a levy for CBAM certificates from Jan 1, 2026.
Mr Worawit did not reveal how the company will sell renewable power to its customers.
The company can sell electricity via its power grid or the state-owned grid, but the latter requires the company to pay for an expensive wheeling charge, which refers to a fee collected from the use of state transmission lines to deliver renewable power.