Open AccessGeothermal resources in southern Thailand – part of a renewable energy mix
Author(s) -
Helmut Düerrast
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iop conference series. earth and environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1755-1307
pISSN - 1755-1315
DOI - 10.1088/1755-1315/463/1/012146
Subject(s) - geothermal power , renewable energy , geothermal energy , geothermal gradient , environmental science , wind power , coal , energy development , energy mix , natural resource economics , electricity generation , environmental engineering , environmental protection , waste management , engineering , power (physics) , geology , electrical engineering , economics , physics , quantum mechanics , geophysics
Electrical energy demand for Southern Thailand is continuously increasing partly due to an increase in tourism. Around 3,000 MW of coal fired power plants are planned by the government, but the proposal was put on hold due to the resistance of local communities and civil society groups. Besides this, coal fired power plants are not only large CO 2 emitters, thus intensifying the on-going climate change processes, but also require lengthy environmental impact assessments, and their technology costs remain stagnant at comparable high levels. Solar and wind energy can be produced at far lower costs than coal, however, their shares on the renewable energy mix are comparable small in Thailand, but with a steady increase. A disadvantage of solar and wind energy production is that the production is not constant due to day/night and weather, respectively. These disadvantages can be compensated by adding geothermal energy, as this energy from deeper geological sources is continuously reaching the Earth’s surface. This allows the continuous feed to geothermal power plants which by this can act as a backbone of a renewable energy mix. In Southern Thailand hot springs from the north to the south are the surface expressions of active geothermal systems at depth. Surface exit temperatures can reach up to 80 degree Celsius, thus considered as low enthalpy resources, which can be utilized applying state-of-the-art binary power plant technology. In the current renewable power plan of the government geothermal energy is not considered due to the low availability of this resource. However, recent research has shown that Southern Thailand holds promising quantities of geothermal resources; with further scientific investigations needed. Finally, the only current geothermal power plant in Thailand located in Fang, Northern Thailand, is situated close to a national park in a beautiful landscape and environment, thus acting as a positive example for Southern Thailand.