From May 2025 through April 2026, Thailand relied on fossil fuels for about 69% of its electricity consumption: gas supplied almost 56% and coal about 13%. Low-carbon electricity accounted for just 14%, comprising roughly 5% solar, 4% biofuels, 4% hydropower and 2% wind. Net imports supplied another 17%; their sources are not specified, so they cannot be classified as clean or fossil-based from these figures. Thailand therefore has considerable scope to increase clean electricity and reduce fossil-fuel dependence, along with its climate and air-pollution impacts.

Is Electricity Growing in Thailand?

Thailand’s latest electricity consumption remains below its historical peak, although low-carbon generation has reached a new record. The latest 2026 consumption figure is about 3,190 kWh per person, compared with roughly 3,230 kWh in the record year of 2024—a shortfall of around 40 kWh per person, or just over 1%. Meanwhile, low-carbon electricity generation increased to 451 kWh per person, exceeding the previous record of 435 kWh in 2025 by 16 kWh, or about 4%. This clean-electricity progress is encouraging, but consumption remaining below its peak warrants attention as electrification and AI create additional electricity demand.

Suggestions

Thailand should accelerate solar deployment while developing nuclear electricity as a complementary source of reliable, low-carbon generation. Relevant Asian examples include Pakistan, where solar supplies 24% of electricity generation and nuclear another 13%, and South Korea, where nuclear contributes 25%. Sri Lanka’s 15% solar share also offers a useful regional benchmark against Thailand’s roughly 5%. Further afield, solar supplies 35% of electricity generation in the US state of Nevada, while France demonstrates the potential scale of nuclear electricity with a 67% share. Thailand can draw on these examples to expand rooftop and utility-scale solar, strengthen grids and storage, and build the institutions and skilled workforce needed for nuclear development. Wind can also contribute where local conditions are suitable, informed by places such as Brazil, where it generates 14% of electricity.

History

Thailand’s low-carbon electricity history shows successive gains alongside substantial year-to-year fluctuations. Hydropower increased by 1.8 TWh in both 1986 and 1989, then by 2.2 TWh in 1995, before declining by a combined 3.6 TWh in 1998–1999. It rebounded by 2.5 TWh in 2000 and gained another 2.3 TWh in 2006. The 2010s brought further hydropower swings: increases of 2.6 TWh in 2011 and 2.9 TWh in 2018 contrasted with declines of 3 TWh in 2013 and 1.8 TWh in 2015. Biofuel generation rose by 2.3 TWh in 2013 and 10.8 TWh in 2016, then fell by 2.6 TWh in 2017 and 3.6 TWh in 2019; wind added 2 TWh in 2019. In the 2020s, hydropower fell by 1.8 TWh in 2020 before increasing by 2.1 TWh in 2022. Most recently, solar delivered an encouraging 4.5 TWh increase in 2025, while biofuel generation declined by 4.2 TWh.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (May 2025 – Apr 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.