Nov. 26--VIENTIANE -- Due to the rise of renewable energy in Asean, the Finnish government is stepping up its investment in the region through its Private Energy Marketing Fund (PMF), which uses Thailand as its regional business base.

PMF started operating in Thailand in 2003 by setting up its Thai subsidiary, Thai Biogas Energy Co (TBEC). The company is now Thailand's largest biogas developer, producing more than 80,000 tonnes per day from its four biogas plants. PMF's investment in Thailand is valued at 301 million baht.

PMF holds 75 percent in TBEC, with the rest held by Al Tayyar Energy (ATE), a private fund of HRH Prince Moulay Hicham Ben Abdallah Al Alaoui of Morocco.

Pajon Sriboonruang, chief operating officer of TBEC, said its first Asean investment would be a US$4-million baht biogas plant in Laos, due to start construction early next year, which will produce methane gas from waste from a cassava plant.

The company also has two new biogas projects in Thailand worth a total of $9 million -- one using waste from an ethanol plant in Rayong and the other using waste from a palm oil plant in Krabi province.

Both are set to be built by early next year. Their production should raise the company's biogas output in Thailand to almost 160,000 tonnes per day.

TBEC on last Friday signed a deal with the Laos-Indochina Group to build and operate biogas facilities in Laos, with a 10-year concession period that can be reviewed.

Laos-Indochina is a local operator of starch production plants and the biogas plant will use its waste.

TBEC will seek the most advanced technology for the Laotian biogas plant. The plant should produce 20,000 tonnes of methane per day, equivalent to the emissions of 15,000 vehicles, when it is completed in 2011, said Gustaf Godenheilm, managing director of TBEC.

"We expect biogas in Laos can be a springboard for us to penetrate into the Indochina region. We will also have talks with agricultural products plant in Malaysia and Indonesia to invest in biogas," said Mr Godenheilm.

Mr Pajon said renewable energy in Asean has a bright outlook as the region learned a hard lesson from last year's record oil prices.

The company also plans to focus on mini-hydro, wind and solar power, in addition to biogas.

TBEC's existing biogas plants are the Kitroongruang, Jiratpattana, Chao Khun Agro Product and Tha Chang projects.

Thailand already has 29 clean development mechanism (CDM) projects in accordance with UN criteria and will have 94 projects by 2011, said Chaiwat Muncharoen, deputy executive director of the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation (TGO).

"Once the project number meets the target, Thailand will be ranked fifth in the world, in terms of the number of CDM projects, following China, India, Brazil and Mexico," said Dr Chaiwat.

Almost 180 projects have already applied to register for CDM trade and another 100 projects plan to submit applications soon.

But the Provincial Electricity Authority said renewable energy in Thailand may grow less than expected due to strong protests from local communities and new environment regulations.

Only 1,000 megawatts, out of 2,800 MW of capacity for which permission to construct is sought, will proceed, said Payomsarit Sripattananon, deputy manager of the power system planning division.

At present, Thailand produces 580 MW per year from 27 renewable energy plants.

The main obstacle to development is that some project operators fail to conduct environmental impact assessments, with the aim of cutting waste-treatment and pollution-control costs. The subsequent impact on the environment has then prompted villagers to have doubts over new projects.

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