The government's pilot project to allow renewable power producers to directly sell electricity totalling 2,000 megawatts to companies may be insufficient to drive new investments in the country, says the Board of Investment (BoI).
Prospective investors not only need adequate infrastructure and highly skilled workers when planning to build new factories, but also want the government to facilitate their purchase of renewable power, said Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the BoI.
More digital technology firms as well as other sectors want clean energy to run their businesses because of the global campaign to cut carbon dioxide emissions, he said.
"Requests for renewable electricity keep rolling in weekly, meaning the 2,000MW supply may not be enough," said Mr Narit.
The BoI considers entrepreneurs' applications for investment incentives to establish or expand their businesses in the country.
Mr Narit commented during the "Ignite Thailand: Invest in Endless Opportunities" seminar held on Wednesday by the BoI.
Authorities are preparing to pilot the use of direct power purchase agreements, widely known as direct PPAs, following calls from investors, especially in the data centre and cloud service sectors, who want authorities to facilitate their use of clean power.
Last year the National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) approved the direct PPA project to promote peer-to-peer power trade in the renewables category, which was previously not permitted in Thailand.
The BoI and energy agencies were assigned by the NEPC to jointly work on the project, expected to start in October.
Authorities are working on drafting criteria for power companies participating in the project and power tariff issues.
Once completed, businesses can directly buy renewable electricity nationwide, regardless of whether they are based in the Eastern Economic Corridor, said Mr Narit.
Approval must be sought from the NEPC if officials want to increase renewable power supply under direct PPAs, said Prasert Sinsukprasert, permanent secretary for energy.
Speaking at the same seminar, he said renewable energy will become important as its proportion is set to increase to 51% of total fuels by 2037.