Nation Thailand
Thailand Scraps Data Centre Power Cap, Opens Clean Electricity Market to All Industry
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 outlet. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
Energy Minister Ekanat Promphan lifts the 2,000MW cap on direct clean power deals for all industry, while shielding households from data centre-driven cost rises.
Key facts
- Thailand's Energy Minister Akanat Promphan has announced the removal of a 2,000-megawatt cap on direct clean power trading for data centres, opening the previously restricted scheme to every industry seeking renewable electricity, as the
- Many data centre operators had publicly pledged to run on 100% renewable energy, he said, but the reality on the ground was different.
- That matters because roughly 60% of Thailand's electricity is already generated from natural gas, and the country does not produce enough domestically.
- Any additional load is met by imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), currently priced at around US$23 per unit on the open market — a cost that, once pooled into the national gas tariff, raises electricity prices "for everyone"
- Because solar power is priced at roughly THB2.16 per unit and wind at about THB3, against an LNG-based production cost of more than THB5, Akanat argued that direct clean power purchases should ultimately work out cheaper than relying on
Summary
Thailand's Energy Minister Akanat Promphan has announced the removal of a 2,000-megawatt cap on direct clean power trading for data centres, opening the previously restricted scheme to every industry seeking renewable electricity, as the government moves to accommodate a surge in demand driven by digital infrastructure.
Speaking at the KT Dialogue forum on Friday, held under the theme "New Horizon: Energy Transition: Smart Grid — Reshaping Tomorrow's Renewable Energy Grid" and hosted by Krungthep Turakij, Akanat said a two-year regulatory sandbox that had limited direct power purchase agreements (PPAs) to 2,000 megawatts specifically for data centres had now been fully lifted following the latest meeting of the National Energy Policy Council (NEPC).