PANEL CALLS FOR CLEAR ENERGY PLAN

       Thailand can erase fears of food shortages despite growing demand for fuel crops, but clearer action plans must be in place for the country to achieve its mission in terms of alternative-energy development, said panellists in a roundtable last week.
       The Energy Ministry's master plan seeks to increase domestic consumption of ethanol to 9 million litres a day in 2022 and of biodiesel to 4.5 million litres, but after eight months the action plan - which divides development into three 5-year phases - is not yet in place.
       "It will be finished soon. But this takes time as it involves so many agencies, such as the ministries of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Commerce. There are many decisions to be made, including taxes and other incentives," Amnuay Thongsathitya, inspector-general of the Energy Ministry, said at the roundtable, hosted by Krungthep Turakij.
       On the national agenda, alternative-energy development remains a sketchy idea without a national body to oversee it in a collective manner, panellists said.
       Anusorn Sangnimnuan, president of Bangchak Petroleum, said that such a body making key decisions would tell all involved where Thailand was going in terms of alternative energy, and let state agencies prepare their own action plans and marshal all involved, such as refineries, oil-retailers and auto-makers.
       Wiwan Boonyaprateeprat, secretary-general of the Thai Oil Palm and Palm Oil Association, said the issue depended on many government agencies and it was difficult for Thailand to achieve its target, especially with each new government bringing changes. He said if farmers were not assured of the right policies, they would not grow the crops, and without supplies the policy would go nowhere.
       Last year, a committee on food and energy security strategy was formed, but most members are civil servants, not decision-makers, said Apichart Jongsakul, director-general of the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), and the focus was unclear due to frequent changes of government.
       "In the locomotive theory, everything is pulled in one direction when the locomotive moves off," Apichart said. "It doesn't work if you push here and pull there." He noted that any national body would also address the appropriate ratio of supply for energy and food production.
       Anusorn said that though oil prices had fallen from a peak of US$147 (Bt5,006) per barrel, they tended to increase when the global economy recovered.