The Royal Seeds of a Biofuel Revolution

by Yuthana Praiwan (Bangkok Post) The late King laid the groundwork for Thailand's path toward energy independence. -- ... Although biofuel took longer to develop because it required more deliberate scientific research and experimentation compared with other agriculture projects, it has now become a mainstream fuel source. The late King wanted to help Thailand become more self-reliant in terms of energy. Biofuel is one of more than 4,000 projects initiated by the late King, helping Thailand to reduce oil imports substantially and become a regional leader in alternative energy development. The late King first warned in 1961 that the world is running out of fossil fuels, urging the switch to more reliable sources of energy that can be produced domestically, like "energy crops" used to produce biofuel.

The late King allocated 955,500 baht of his own money to conduct R&D for ethanol produced from molasses -- a waste product from the sugar-crushing process. Ethanol-blended petrol subsequently became widely used across the country. In 1983, the late King led efforts to conduct more R&D on biofuel made from palm oil. The project was a collaborative effort between the Prince of Songkhla University and Nikom Ao-leuk Agricultural Cooperative in Krabi, one of the major palm oil plantation areas. READ MORE