Thailand is poised to finally enter the nuclear era, proposing 9,000 megawatts of small modular reactors (SMRs) under its power development plan (PDP) to advance the nation’s campaign against global warming.
The draft 2026 PDP, unveiled on Tuesday by the Energy Policy and Planning Office (Eppo), sets out a roadmap through 2050 that for the first time embeds a legally binding net-zero target.
Officials stressed that every measure in the plan is critical, as the goal is not voluntary but rather a national commitment.
The plan prioritises renewable energy expansion, while positioning SMRs as a supporting clean power source to cut carbon emissions, particularly in the electricity sector.
“The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand [Egat] will pioneer the country’s first SMR project, with a 300MW unit expected to come online in 2037,” said Sarat Prakobchart, deputy director-general of Eppo.
Egat is expected to oversee the initial installation to ensure safety and smooth execution.
An SMR is a nuclear power technology with a generating capacity of up to 300MW per unit, roughly one-third the size of traditional nuclear reactors, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Once regulatory and operational frameworks are in place, private investors in the small power producer category will be invited to develop and operate additional SMRs, with a combined capacity of 8,700MW, according to the PDP.
These decentralised units are expected to serve energy-intensive sectors such as data centres and advanced technology industries, according to an official who requested anonymity.
Nuclear power was first floated in the 2010 PDP, with plans for 2,000MW of capacity by 2020-21. That proposal was scrapped in 2011 after Japan’s Fukushima disaster raised global safety concerns.
Officials now argue that SMRs, with their smaller scale and advanced safety features, can provide a more viable path forward.
Under the 2026 PDP, SMRs will complement a massive scale-up of renewables.
Clean energy sources are projected to account for 65-89% of Thailand’s energy mix by 2050, up from just 20% today.
Officials confirmed there will be no new coal-fired plants, with existing facilities set to retire over time.
Natural gas, which currently supplies nearly 60% of power generation, will be reduced to less than 29% by 2037, serving as a transitional fuel to stabilise the grid alongside low-carbon technologies.
Energy planners say the combined push of renewables, SMRs and reduced reliance on fossil fuels is crucial for Thailand to meet its net-zero pledge.
The power and transport sectors together account for more than 70% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions annually, making the transition urgent.
The first phase of the PDP (2026-37) sets power generation capacity at 50,900MW, while the second phase (2038-50) outlines three scenarios for policymakers, depending on whether carbon capture and storage is adopted and how far renewable energy can be scaled.
The new PDP also promotes smart grids, which are advanced electricity networks that use digital technology to balance supply and demand in real time, as well as virtual power plants, which are systems that link distributed energy resources into a single controllable unit.