alternative. The result showed that selling surplus
electricity to EGAT was the best option with the
second best being the installation of an evaporation
system on the farm.
7.4.1. The “best case” scenario. Three scenarios
were simulated to find “the best case”. They were:
(1) the installation of an evaporation system on the
farm; (2) converting biogas into electricity and selling
the surplus to the EGAT; and (3) an increase of
20 percent in benefits for all alternative methods.
The results of the simulations are shown in Table 7.
Scenario 1: The installation of an evaporation system
on the farm.
Evaporation systems have been proven to increase
the level of hygiene and sanitation on pig farms,
resulting in the following benefits:1
1. A reduction in the mortality rates of newborn
piglets.
2. An overall increase in the number of litters produced
per annum.
3. A reduction in the average feed conversion rate
(FCR)1.
Improving hygiene, therefore, results in an increase
in the productivity, efficiency and profitability of
the farm.
Scenario 2: Converting biogas into electricity and
selling the surplus to EGAT.
Biogas can also run generators to produce electricity.
The surplus electricity can be sold to EGAT. Largescale
pig farms seem to benefit more from the biogas
in terms of comparative advantage (the average cost
of electricity production in large-scale pig farms is
relatively lower than in smaller farms). The estimated
quantity of biogas produced from biogas digesters
under the biogas and mixed alternative methods was
about 302 067 320 cubic metres per year.
Only 17 percent of the total biogas or 50 595 825 m3
per year was consumed for household uses on the
sampled local farms. On the other hand, 83 percent of
the total biogas (or 251 million cubic metres per year)
was simply released into the atmosphere. This could
be used as fuel in the same way as petrol and diesel.
In 2005, the Thai government imposed a requirement
on EGAT to buy electricity (produced from surplus
biogas) from all farmers, including pig farmers.
Scenario 3: An increase of 20 percent in benefits
for each alternative method.