Implementing a palm oil‐based biodiesel policy: The case of Thailand

Abstract

Renewable energy promotion is recognized as an important goal in international climate policies in order to reduce CO2‐emissions. Biodiesel can potentially be an important contributor in this respect, especially in Thailand with its large biomass production from oil palm cultivation. Palm oil is the main raw feedstock for biodiesel production. However, biodiesel production is also controversial in many respects, in particular considering its sustainability. This paper assesses the collaboration between different actors in the Thai biodiesel and oil palm networks in organizing biodiesel provision. Through qualitative interviews with key political, economic, and societal actors the structure and the dynamic of the biodiesel and oil palm industry, as well as the relevant policy dynamics, were investigated. We found that the implementation of biodiesel policy was dominated by the need to secure the production of palm oil‐based cooking oil leading to frequent adjustments. Sustainable improvement and environmental considerations hardly played a role in the interactions between the actors involved in the palm oil and biodiesel industries. Government agencies were dominant and steered the biodiesel and the oil palm industries both directly and indirectly via economic and societal actors. Nevertheless, the promotion of biodiesel continues to be the basis of the national renewable energy master plan with its clear target to balance and stabilize the economic, social and environmental issues. As the renewable energy master plan does not fit with the possible feedstock, the main challenges in achieving these sustainable targets are therefore how to maintain a stable and consistent policy, especially concerning balancing the palm oil used for biodiesel production on the one hand and palm oil‐based cooking oil on the other.

Understanding the Palm Oil Utilization Preference: A Literature Review and Preference Measurement

“…Palm oil is subject to an export tax of 10%, there is also a quota policy that can encourage consumption of domestic palm A country's policy can also influence the consumption preferences of palm oil as a supporting material for biodiesel. One example is the policy in Thailand to encourage the use of palm oil as a supporting material for biodiesel as discussed in [10]. To supply feedstock for biodiesel, the Thai government made arrangements for a minimum of 200,000 tons of CPO reserves.…”

“…The preference for processed palm oil products is the composition of biodiesel which considers sustainability aspects, there are two studies, namely research De Souza et al [25] and Rocha et al [27]. Whereas, the preference for using palm oil processed products as a biodiesel constituent material that considers aspects of state policy is three studies, namely research Nupueng et al [10], Yatim et al [28], and Mekhilef [23]. Then, the preference for using palm oil processed products as a biodiesel constituent that considers the emission aspects there are three studies, namely research Radhakrishnan et al [11], Kim et al [26], and Wei et al [29].…”

“…The sustainability perspective explains the supply of oil palm which is related to the quantity of oil palm and the life cycle of the oil palm itself [6], [7]. Other considered aspects related to the policies made by a country to influence the use of palm oil as cooking oil and as a base for biodiesel are policies that apply to the industry's stakeholder in a country [8]- [10]. Usage preferences are also sometimes influenced by other factors such as emissions, where currently the community and industry have begun to be aware of the effects of emissions on the environment [11]- [13].…”

Smoke Particle, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Total Benzo[a]pyrene Toxic Equivalence Emitted by Palm Oil Sewage Sludge Bio-Char Combustion

“…[4]. Recently, Thailand has become the world's third-largest producer and exporter of palm oil [4,5], primarily due to the increased usage of biodiesel internationally. This usage of biodiesel is driven by increasing petroleum price, and so crude palm oil (CPO) consumption has also increased [5][6][7].…”

Experimental investigation of a small agricultural diesel engine performance using community biodiesel from wild trees

“…However, the Royal Thai Government wishes to step up its efforts to increase the share of renewable energy in the country to 30% in 2036 (Sitdhiwej, 2016). Biodiesel is an alternative energy that the Royal Thai Government supports with the production target of 14 million liters/day, while the current production is only 6.5 million liters/day and all raw materials are derived from oil palm (Nupueng et al, 2018;Heo et al, 2019). In northern Thailand, most people are employed in the agricultural sector and the income of households is lower than in other regions.…”