Thai energy ... modern but underdeveloped

If I were to appraise the situation of energy alternatives from a strategic point of view, then the Thai government appears to be leading the pack when compared to its Asean neighbors. True, Thailand might have gotten off to a slow start in this area, such as using Compressed Natural Gas
or CNG, an area where Malaysia had a head start. However our CNG population is now at about 30,000 vehicles along with a hug back-order averaging out to at least 10,000 vehicles per month.

What I just described still does not include the large population of Liquefied Petroleum Gas or LPG vehicles.

All of this appears to have balled up into a time bomb waiting to detonate once the government readies itself to float LPG prices according to actual market prices.

Not only natural gas or CNG which has been creating quite a stir but other alternative energy forms are being promoted to the point that the consumer and business proprietors are finding it hard to keep up with the changes.
That in a nutshell was the policy laid out by the Minister of Energy Lt Gen Poonpirom Liptapanlop, who spawned this idea of a broad-ranged policy starting with E85 and a national push for E85-capable vehicles. However
not all automakers agreed with the minister's policy. Mere nodding of the heads do not necessarily mean that automakers agree wholeheartedly.

And when the Finance Ministry unveiled its new excise tax structure for E85 cars, the results were less than impressive from the perspective of Excise tax rates. Automakers, which joined the E85 project, were clearly unimpressed.

That's not the end of the story. The minister flew to Brazil to study the successful gasohol market over there; and came back with a new proposal to support E100 for the Thai market.

Now automakers are in a quagmire of sorts with regards to government policy as days go by. What exactly is the state trying to say?

As diesel-powered vehicles are being shunned, biodiesel as an alternative energy form is not getting the stimulus and support it needs despite being part of the national strategy of previous government administrations.

I don't know how to describe the energy scenario of Thailand. It is probably modern yet underdeveloped, which is a fitting description that plagues even developed economies.