Chiang Mai Journal of Science

Domestic demand for electricity in Thailand increases continuously as a result of economic expansion and the increasingly hot water. The energy sector has a long-term plan to invest in new power plants in order to keep up with the growing demand. This plan includes both fossil fuel and alternative technologies such as nuclear and biofuel. However, in the short-term plan, natural gas-fired power plants dominate electricity generation in Thailand, both in terms of installed capacity and the amount of fuel consumption. Gas-fired combined cycle power plants have moderate fuel consumption efficiency. The efficiency is partly limited by the material technology of the engine components. Surface engineering, in particular thermal spraying, has a major role in increasing the plant efficiency by raising the operational temperature of the turbine engine thus making optimal use of the scarce fossil fuel.