Thai consumption of gasoline blends with 20% and 85% ethanol has increased with wider distribution and more E85 cars on the road, a spokeswoman from the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE), said Friday, August 22.
Data from the Department of Energy Business showed that in June there were 407 gas stations selling E85 blend -- gasoline blended with 85% ethanol -- compared with 134 in June 2013.
Additionally, E20 was available at 2,399 gas stations in June compared with 1,680 the same month last year. The department has yet to publish July data on its website.
The number of E85 cars now number around 300,000 compared to less than 100,000 last year, the DEDE spokeswoman said. She did not have data on E20 cars.
Thai motorists are forecast to consume 0.8 million liters/day of E85 and 3.5 million liters/day this year, up from 0.38 million liters/day and 2.63 million liters/day, respectively, last year.
Total ethanol production from molasses and ethanol is forecast to be 3 million liters/day this year, up from 2.6 million liters/day last year, she said.
"There is no oversupply of ethanol in Thailand. We are consuming an average of 3 million liter/day," the spokeswoman said.
The DEDE estimates that Thailand will harvest 28-30 million mt of cassava this year, up from 25 million last year. About 1.6 million mt of the total will be used to make ethanol, up from 600,000 mt last year.
More molasses will be channeled into ethanol production -- 2.57 million mt compared with 1.6 million mt in 2013.
The country is expected to produce 4.5 million mt of molasses in 2014, up 12.5% on the year.
Thailand has 22 producers with a combined nameplate capacity of 3.95 million liters/day.
Six more producers are expected to come onstream over the next two years, boosting current capacity by 2.3 million liters/day, the spokeswoman said.
"We're on track to achieve our (Alternative Energy Development Plan) 2021 goal of 9 million liters/day of ethanol consumption," she said.
