Thailand: Coal-fired power plant decision due Friday

Thailand: Coal-fired power plant decision due Friday

The battle to stop the coal-fired power plant in Krabi is about to erupt
again as the Energy Policy and Planning Committee meets Friday to decide the
fate of the project.

Project opponents who have organised under the Network for Saving the
Andaman plan to hold an extended protest outside Government House starting
Friday until there is a change of policy.

Almost simultaneously, project supporters have submitted a petition to the
government emphasising "pressing needs" to build more coal-fired power
plants.

The protest comes after a controversial document, dated Tuesday, over the
signature of Sawetchat Suwannarat of Klong Thom district was leaked on
social media.

It ordered village heads and sub-district chiefs, or kamnan, to arrange for
20 people from each village to attend a gathering in front of Krabi
provincial hall on Thursday to express their support for the 800-megawatt
coal-fired power plant.

The letter caused Mr Sawetchat to be transferred from his position.

The project is one of two coal-fired power plants the government plans to
develop in the southern region to serve rising demand for power as the
economy grows.

The plants have been delayed since mid-2014 by previous protests.

However, more recently, Energy Minister Anantaporn Kanjanarat has insisted
the project must proceed to meet energy demands.

Pinyo Meechumna, from Chulalongkorn's Department of Mining and Petroleum
Engineering, is urging the government to approve the project.

Mr Pinyo, a member of a working panel appointed to review the project, said
he had visited overseas coal-fired power plants with clean technology and
there were no reports about health or environmental impacts.

However, he said all parties concerned must comply with laws and safety
regulations to ensure that a coal-fired power plant poses no risks.

Citing a coal-fired power plant in Map Ta Phut, he said it has been in
operation for 10 years without complaints about health and environment
risks.

Meanwhile, the Central Administrative Court's Environment Division threw out
a petition Thursday against the energy minister and four state agencies over
their handling of the country's 2015 Power Development Plan (PDP).

The petition signed by Srisuwan Janya, president of the Stop Global Warming
Association (SGWA) and 20 others, asked the Administrative Court to revoke
the PDP and cancel any bidding process or construction of power plants under
the plan.

The agencies are the Energy Policy and Planning Committee, the Energy Policy
and Planning Office, the Energy Regulatory Commission and the Electricity
Generating Authority of Thailand.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/1199781/coal-fired-power-plant-deci
sion-due-friday

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com