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Table 3: Renewable energy potential for electricity generation in ThailandBog'liq 34. FS-Green-TechnologyTable 3: Renewable energy potential for electricity generation in Thailand
Source: Thailand, Thailand in the 2010’s: Thailand’s Renewable Energy and its Energy Future: Opportunities & Challenges, Final draft
(Bangkok, Ministry of Energy, 2009). Available from www.nstda.or.th/attachments/7918_CASAVA-2.pdf (accessed 06 March 2012).
Wind
Wind power technology is one of the most mature renewable energy approaches. In 2010, for the first time ever,
more new wind power capacity was installed in developing countries than in the traditional markets of the
OECD.
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The main barriers to wind power production are the intermittency of wind, location constraints and
public resistance. Due to the irregularity of wind, a high penetration of wind power requires energy storage tech-
nology. Additionally, producing electricity from wind turbines requires non-turbulent wind (strong wind blowing
with consistent force). Thus, available wind resources need to be the main consideration for the site selection of
wind farms. However, some communities may be resistant to having a wind farm nearby due to aesthetic issues
and the low-frequency noise of the windmills.
Offshore wind farms may attract less public resistance, but the entailed construction and operating costs are
higher. The technological limitations of an offshore location, namely the need for submarine transmission lines,
are additional obstacles. Offshore-wind generation has great potential due to better wind resources (stronger
and more predictable) and easily available construction space, especially once the best sites for on-shore wind
power generation are no longer available. Grid parity of wind-generated energy with natural gas and coal is
predicted for 2025, if a carbon price of US$30 per tonne CO
2
emissions is introduced.
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Figure 2: Annual installed wind power capacity, by region, 2003–2010
Source: Global Wind Energy Council, Global Wind Report: Annual Market Update 2010 (Brussels, 2011). Available from
www.gwec.net/fileadmin/images/Publications/GWEC_annual_market_update_2010_-_2nd_edition_April_2011.pdf (accessed 06 March
2012).
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