HIGHLIGHTS
- Hosts Public Advocacy Events: The university actively holds public events and discussions to promote a national clean energy transition. This includes high-level seminars such as the “Beyond Coal: Clean Energy Transition Dialogue” seminar, which convene experts and civil society to discuss policy and practice for reducing coal reliance.
- Provides Technical Support for Industry Pledges: Thammasat directly supports external organisations in adopting cleaner energy. Through a 2024 collaboration, its ECEE and the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO) are providing technical consultancy to 20 pilot companies to help them adopt Net Zero pathways.
- Offers Public Education on Clean Energy: The university provides clean energy education accessible to the “general public,” not just its own students. The Green Energy Innovation Learning Center serves as an open-access hub for the wider community to learn about solar power and green innovations, fostering broader public support for renewables.
Thammasat University actively pursues its ambitious sustainability goals, including achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2050, and recognises its critical role in inspiring broader societal change towards clean energy. The university contributes significantly to this goal through a dual approach: demonstrating large-scale renewable solutions on its own campus and actively fostering the wider industry and public transition through advocacy and capacity building.
Leading by Example: Demonstrating Renewable Viability
To showcase the practical benefits and feasibility of renewable energy, Thammasat has invested significantly in large-scale, public-facing projects.
- Large-Scale Solar Rooftop Project: Our extensive Solar Rooftop project at the Rangsit campus serves as a powerful demonstration of renewable energy viability within a major institution. Currently generating 10% of the campus’s electricity needs from clean solar power, this initiative significantly reduces CO2 emissions by over 21,000 tonnes annually. By openly sharing the success and scale of this project, Thammasat aims to inspire similar initiatives in other organisations across Thailand.
- Pioneering Public Renewable Energy: The Thammasat Solar Park at the Rangsit Campus was established as the first 100% renewable energy public park in Thailand. This initiative serves as a visible and accessible example of sustainable design for the wider community, embodying the university’s commitment to sharing sustainable solutions.
- Green Energy Innovation Learning Centre: Further extending its educational mission, Thammasat, in collaboration with Solartron, opened the Green Energy Innovation Learning Center. This centre serves as a vital hub for promoting knowledge about clean energy technologies. Crucially, it is open to the general public, reinforcing Thammasat’s role as a ‘University for the People’ in the sphere of sustainable energy education.
Driving the National Dialogue: Advocacy Through Events and Discussions
Thammasat leverages its academic platform to foster crucial discussions and build capacity for the energy transition, directly engaging in public advocacy.
- Hosting Specific Transition Dialogues: Thammasat organised the high-level seminar, “Beyond Coal: Clean Energy Transition Dialogue”. The primary goal of this event was to discuss approaches for reducing reliance on coal within Thailand’s energy sector. This dialogue brought together academics, experts, and civil society representatives to identify practical solutions and policies for promoting clean energy use.
- Disseminating Knowledge: The Faculty of Law ensures that research findings and summaries from academic seminars—including those on energy transition—are distributed widely through effective communication channels, such as social media and accessible infographics, to respond to contemporary social issues.
Fostering Industry Transition: Building Capacity Beyond Campus
Thammasat actively engages beyond its borders to facilitate the clean energy transition in other sectors. A prime example is the 2024 collaboration between the Center of Excellence in Ecological Economics Energy (ECEE) at the Faculty of Engineering and the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO).
This joint project, titled “Promoting Industrial Sector Greenhouse Gas Emission Target Setting Towards Net Zero via Science-Based Targets,” aims to build capacity within industry. Under this MOU, TGO and ECEE provide technical support and consultancy to 20 pilot organisations on setting Science-Based Targets (SBT), including training on GHG reporting and identifying technologies to achieve Net Zero pathways. This initiative fundamentally enables businesses to increase their adoption of cleaner energy sources as part of their decarbonisation, thereby promoting the shift towards renewables in the wider economy.
Through these concerted actions—demonstrating large-scale renewable success on its own campus and actively supporting the decarbonisation efforts of public and private partners—Thammasat University contributes meaningfully to fostering an environment where ambitious renewable energy goals become more attainable for society as a whole.