Thailand has unveiled the largest wind farm in ASEAN, which is
intended to help the country become the regional leader in alternative
energy.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra chaired the
official opening of the West Huay Bong 2 – West Huay Bong 3 project in
Nakhon Ratchasima province on February 12.
The project
has been initiated to help strengthen the stability of the country’s
power generation system and to be a source of learning about energy
conservation awareness for the new generation of Thais.
With strong determination to promote alternative energy development, the
government has aimed to use the newly-opened wind farm to generate as
many as 1,200 megawatts of power within eight years.
Energy Minister Pongsak Ruktapongpisal said that the new wind power
generation project is the first of its kind in Thailand and offers
the largest combined capacity of 207 megawatts. In addition, the West
Huay Bong 2 and the West Huay Bong 3 can, individually, generate around
350 million units of electricity for sale to the Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand, each year.
Minister Pongsak stated
that the wind farm not only responds well to consumer demand but also
does good to the society and the environment as it effectively reduces
the country’s carbon-dioxide emission by 270,000 tonnes and cuts fuel
oil imports by 90 million litres, worth around 1.9 billion THB, per
year.
PM Yingluck added that the Ministry of Energy, on
the government’s behalf, has been working hard to help Thailand
secure the energy stability while cutting down the reliance of fossil
fuel, particularly in the power generation sector./.