The World Bank has approved a USD200 million project to support the deployment of clean energy across Thailand’s public sector through an innovative financing platform that combines private investment with carbon market mechanisms. The Low Carbon Cities and Carbon Market Development Project (LCC) is designed to enable public organisations to implement renewable energy and energy efficiency projects without requiring large upfront capital investments. Under the model, private energy service companies (ESCOs) will finance and implement the projects, while government agencies will repay the investment through long-term service agreements.
The programme will support the installation of rooftop solar systems and energy efficiency upgrades across public buildings, schools, healthcare facilities, district offices, industrial estates and streetlighting. The World Bank estimates that the project will add up to 180 MW of renewable energy capacity and deliver approximately 448 GWh of annual electricity savings. The initiative is also expected to create at least 1,800 job-years during implementation in areas such as renewable energy installation, operations and maintenance, energy services and digital carbon monitoring. Financing for eligible ESCOs will be provided by the Export-Import Bank of Thailand, while Krungthai Bank will aggregate carbon credits generated by the projects and connect them to carbon markets to create an additional revenue stream for future investments.
The project has been developed in partnership with Thailand’s Public Debt Management Office, the Department of Climate Change and Environment, the Bank of Thailand, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization and other government agencies. The initiative is expected to lower public-sector energy costs, attract private investment, strengthen energy security and establish a scalable financing framework to support Thailand’s carbon neutrality and net-zero emissions goals while advancing sustainable economic growth.