Green Energy on the Rise in Thailand

BCPG Public Company is looking at ways in which innovation in technology and energy management are encouraging consumers to generate reusable energy and sell it on the retail market, Bundit Sapianchai told Oxford Business Group’s online broadcasting channel, Global Platform. 

Diversifying into more types of renewable energy and seeking innovative products and services is central to the company’s strategy of fulfilling consumer needs.
 
In the wide-range interview, the company President and CEO said that advancements in technology will allow consumers to buy and sell green energy directly to the grid, cutting out the need for government or utility companies. “We are providing them with the system, but the energy or the power belongs to the consumer,” he told OBG. “That’s what we mean in terms of the democratization of energy. People are not only consuming green energy; the new way lets them be producer of green energy. The industry is shifting from centralized distribution – from a conventional way to a smarter way.”
 
According to Sapianchai, the transformation of the business model from wholesale to retail will gain significant ground in the medium term. “Building the retail market takes time, but in about two to three years, we expect to have a new portfolio mix of both wholesale and retail. In the long-term, after five years, we will see more retail activities in our portfolio.”
 
Sapianchai pointed to the key role of global governments in the development of cheaper reusable energy, making it accessible to more people. “In the very early days the technology was still very expensive, but every government began subsidizing the sector to make it happen. The cost of a solar panel has dropped more than three times. Now, it’s very competitive to conventional ways of producing energy.”
 
Offering low-cost and low-carbon energy directly to the customer is made possible through the use of blockchain technology, where “people can own their energy; they can either use it, or sell it through our energy-trading platform that allows for peer-to-peer trading. When people sell back to the national grid, less is bought from the national generator.”
 
Central to the scheme is government’s role in agreeing to manage energy more cost-effectively. “The government tried to achieve lower energy costs, and there are many ways to do that. They can build a conventional coal-fired power plant, or a new green energy power plant.  We are proposing another way involving changing the how energy is managed to become more efficient. We will have direct contact with the end-user – ordinary people like us who consume energy.”
 
Marc-André de Blois, OBG’s Director of PR and Video Content, said the interview with Sapianchai showed that efforts to put technology at the center of its plans to diversify energy distribution were part of how companies can innovate to improve services.
 
“While our video documents the developments under way in Thailand, it also highlights how customer-centered tools, such as those being employed by BCPG, are encouraging green energy production,” he said. “I’m delighted that viewers have been given the opportunity to not only learn more about cutting-edge management techniques being employed in South-east Asia, but also the role the company is playing in building infrastructure to shape the future of renewable energy.”
 
BCPG is one of the leaders in renewable energy in South-east Asia, with solar power, wind power and geothermal power businesses in Thailand, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia.