With solid governmental commitment to develop a clean energy society, the Department of
Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DAEDE) was established under the Ministry of
Energy, to support, promote, and develop clean energy production and consumption cost-
effectively and sustainably. In addition, it aims to develop the country as an energy knowledge
base society, as Thailand recently has established the School of Renewable Energy Technology –
an institute at Naresuan University – to train students and scholars in this field.
Thailand’s commercial energy consumption in 2012 was 1.97 million barrels of oil equivalent per
day. The country is highly dependent on imported energy; in 2012, over 67% of energy was
imported. Total energy expenditure in 2012 was US$71 billion, 10% higher than in 2011. The
manufacturing and transportation sectors were the largest energy consumers in 2012: absorbing
37% and 36%, respectively.