Govt urged to promote gasohol consumption

BANGKOK, 21 December 2009 (NNT) – The sales of gasohol in 2009 remains stable compared to last year while the figures for November dropped slightly compared to October, says the Alternative Energy Institute Foundation of Thailand.

Speaking of the domestic gasohol consumption, vice president of the Foundation, Mr Dhipati Hanprasert, said the decline might be due to the lack of campaigning on the part of the Energy Ministry. The current ethanol consumption is around 1.2 million liters per day. If the trend continues, it is likely that the government will be unable to achieve its target of 3 million liters of public consumption by 2011.

Mr Dhipati suggests that the Energy Ministry should put more efforts into promoting the use of gasohol and E 85 among motorists. The government should appoint an organization to manage the bio-fuel industry. He said the free energy trading practiced currently will not benefit the industry. More government support is also needed.

Gasohol use in November was approximately 11.55 million liters per day, down by 4.2% compared to October 2009 but increased by 6.1% compared to the same period last year. The daily consumption since the beginning of this year was steady at 11-12 million liters. The total production capacity of 17 ethanol plants is 2.58 million liters, more than twice of the daily need.