Thailand: Democrats urge use of LNG, palm oil for power plants

Thailand: Democrats urge use of LNG, palm oil for power plants

The Democrat Party is championing the use of liquified natural gas (LNG) and
palm oil to fuel two new power plants in the South, where there is stiff
local opposition to the use of coal.

The party has argued its case in a proposal submitted to the government.

Details were revealed by Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and Korn
Chatikavanij, a former deputy leader, at party headquarters on Wednesday.

The two voiced support for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who has said he
intends to find a solution to problems surrounding the building of a
controversial coal-fired power plant in Krabi within two weeks.

Construction of the 800-megawatt plant has been postponed since 2015 amid
repeated protests by local residents and environmental activists that
finally forced the government to listen to their opinions.

The plant was due to begin commercial operation in December 2019. This has
now been put back to some time in 2021.

Mr Abhisit said the Democrat Party wants energy security in the South and
believes the government should opt for a sustainable form of development in
responding to the people's opinions.

The party had proposed that the government speed up construction of a
companion power plant in Thepha district of Songkhla, but change the type of
fuel from coal to LNG.

At the same time, the government should order a feasibility study into using
palm oil as an alternative to coal for the power plant in Krabi.

The government should also invest in related infrastructure to facilitate
use of recyclable energy in the future.

Mr Abhisit said the party's proposal was intended to ensure energy security
in the South, reduce the reliance on natural gas from the Gulf of Thailand
and neighbouring countries, and avoid conflict and confrontation with the
local people and environmentalists.

It would also lead to more use of recyclable energy in the future and this
would be in line with the government's intention to reduce emissions of
greenhouse gases.

As an added benefit, using LNG was less costly than coal, he said.

Mr Korn said he had submitted a letter to the prime minister explaining that
the party supports the use of LNG because:

- LNG is a fuel which can be obtained from various production sources;

- The cost of producing electricity using LNG is lower than using coal;

- Building an LNG-fuelled plant costs about half as much as a coal-fired
plant;

- It takes only 48 months to build an LNG-fuelled plant, compared to 80
months for a coal plant;

- Environmental Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) approval is required for the
construction of a coal-fired plant, but an LNG plant requires only
Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) approval; and

- Not using coal would strengthen the government's stance on reducing
greenhouse effects.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/1195036/democrats-urge-use-of-lng-p
alm-oil-for-power-plants

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com