BANGKOK, 2 August 2011 – The Energy for Environment Foundation (EforE) has insisted that the incoming government consider canceling the distribution of Benzene 91 and Gasohol 91 in a bid to help promote ethanol consumption.
Chief Executive Director of EforE Suwaporn Sirikoon cited the foundation’s study as suggesting that too many types of fuel were being distributed in Thailand and that the issue had contributed to unnecessarily high operating costs for both public and private companies. As a solution, she said the new minister of energy should discontinue the sales of Benzene 91 and Gasohol 91, leaving only Benzene 95, Gasohol 95, Gasohol E20, Gasohol E85 and diesel.
Based on the initial projection, if Benzene 91 becomes unavailable in 2012, the usage of ethanol in the country will rise to 10 million liters per day by 2022, which is more than the 9-million-liter target under the Alternative Energy Development Plan. This year, only 1.3 million liters of ethanol has been consumed each day, as opposed to the anticipated volume of 3 million liters.
In another related study, car manufacturers are found to be releasing more compact models into the market, and it is expected that cars running on Gasohol E85 will account for 1.72 percent of all new vehicles this year. The ratio of benzene-consuming cars will likely shrink to 2.09 percent this year and could reach zero percent within 1-2 years.
