Thailand is aiming to be ratified as a member of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) in a bid to have a greater role in global green energy, says Energy Minister Wannarat Channukul.

The cabinet approved Thailand's application for Irena membership yesterday, subject to parliamentary approval.

Irena, which is considered the "OPEC of renewable energy", was initiated by the German government in Bonn in 2007 and had its first meeting in January this year. Its current members include Denmark, Spain, Sweden, the Maldives, the United Arab Emirates and Kenya.

"Thailand is among 138 countries that intend to become members of Irena. We expect to get approval from parliament within the first quarter of next year," Mr Wannarat said.

Being part of Irena would benefit the country in terms of information exchange of renewable energies that could help develop local green technology, he added.

The ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japan-based New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) to develop a pilot project for new air-conditioning technology that reduces power consumption by 30% compared to conventional models

A new 30,000-square-metre building of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand will become the first testing centre with a cooler galley. The agency also asked the Finance Ministry to waive the 5% import tariff for equipment worth 50 million baht, he added.

"NEDO has had this technology for many years but the agency has not conducted testing in a tropical country. Once the project proves commercially viable in Thailand, we might be able to cut power consumption more than we expected," he said.

To foster faster development of energy-saving programmes, the ministry has earmarked a budget of 3.3 billion baht to replace all lighting systems at state agencies countrywide with energy-saving bulbs.

A total of 800 state-owned buildings with old lighting systems will receive energy-efficient T5 lightbulbs.

"We can't wait until agencies volunteer to do these things because it takes years to get the budget allocation. The programme should be subsidised by the Energy Conservation Fund," he said.

Replacement is expected next year.