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The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Vol. 30 No. 3 Jul.-Sep. 2005 730 The Role of Thai Energy Policy and Strategies in Sustainable Development of energy infrastructure projects are encouraged. In addition, the government has promoted and supported other non- conventional, alternative energy pro- duction. For example, owners of pig farms and food processing factories are encouraged to install biogas sys- tems to better handle their wastewater management and to make use of biogas in power generation. With the installment of such a system, they can make a saving from electricity ge- nerated from biogas and gain extra revenues from by-products of the waste treatment process (such as organic fertilizer), while the environ- mental problems on their farms would also be solved. In the case of a micro-hydroelec- tricity project, communities that be- nefit from the electricity generated will also have a motive to preserve the watershed so as to ensure healthy flow of water for electricity genera- tion. Electricity generated from renewable sources, e.g. solar, wind, biomass/biogas and hydro energy, can replace electricity generated from more polluting fossil fuels and thus help reduce the environmental im- pacts resulting from electricity ge- neration in the country as a whole. 6. Conclusion Thailand’s energy demand is increasing each year. Measures to reduce dependency on imported en- ergy are implemented to reduce the trade deficit. Therefore, establishing proper energy policy and strategies, together with efficient energy ma- nagement, is crucial to ensure energy supply security for sustainable growth of the country. Energy diver- sification is an important means to enhance security of energy supply. Thailand has indigenous natural gas reserves and abundant renewable energy sources; therefore, efforts will be made to maximize the use of our own energy resources. Moreover, natural gas and renewable energy are cleaner energy that will help to re- duce adverse environmental impact of energy supply. More importantly, to promote greater use of alternative and renew- able energy as well as R&D on tech- nology and utilization of such energy, of which the costs are still high, financial incentives from the govern- ment are available, mainly through the Energy Conservation Promotion Fund. This aims to create a greater market for alternative and renewable energy and to make it competitive with conventional fuels in the long run. In addition, energy conservation campaigns have been launched and measures introduced on a continuous basis, aiming to change energy con- sumption behavior of the people to be more economical and efficient and to raise their energy conservation consciousness. International co- operation in energy development will continue to be a significant strategy of Thailand so as to enhance national energy development. It is hoped that the aforemen- tioned energy policy framework and implementation strategies will even- tually lead to sustainable develop- ment of the energy sector and hence contribute to sustainable economic growth of the country. References 1. Ministry of Energy, 2003, New Dimen- sion of Thai Energy : The Competitive Potential of the Country, Rum Thai Press Printing, Bangkok. 2. The Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, Ministry of Energy, 2004, Renewable Energy in Thailand : Ethanol and Biodiesel, Plan Printing, Bangkok. 3. Energy Policy and Planning Office, ‘Thai Energy Situation in 2004’ , Energy Policy Journal, vol. 67, January- March 2005, pp. 38-51.