Thailand - Cleaner coal: Hope for Krabi?

Thailand - Cleaner coal: Hope for Krabi?

Although the future of the planned coal-fired power plant in Krabi province
remains inconclusive, energy policymakers are now looking for the technology
with which to operate the plant.

Among the choices is one from Kyushu island in Japan.

The National Energy Policy Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut
Chan-o-cha, approved the construction of the 800-megawatt plant located in
the Nua Khlong district of Krabi.

Strong opposition from villagers worried about the potential adverse effects
of the power plant on the environment and their livelihoods forced the
cabinet to recently order a review of the environmental and health impact
assessments, which will further delay its progress.

Policymakers, however, have decided to search for improved technology to run
the power plant to be ready if gets the go-ahead.

Advanced technology used by a coal-fired power plant in a coastal city of
Japan to reduce pollutants in the air and water has raised fresh hopes among
Thai energy authorities for the Krabi project.

Areepong Bhoocha-Oom, permanent secretary for energy, said the Energy
Ministry wants cleaner technology to ensure that the power plant will be
environmentally friendly for surrounding communities.

As demand for electricity in the South rose by 4.7% between 2006 and 2016
due largely to the influx of tourists, the ministry is duty-bound to find
new energy sources, he said. The 800-megawatt coal-fired power plant in
Krabi had been planned to serve the rapidly rising demand.

The South depends on electricity generated from the Central Plains, as the
region generates only 3,090 megawatts, of which 343MW is renewable energy.
Its firm capacity stands at 2,747MW.

Demand peaked on April 28 last year at 2,713MW. Without a new electricity
generating plant, the region is at risk of power blackouts, said Mr
Areepong.

He was speaking at a briefing on the power situation in the South during a
recent study trip on thermal power plant management and fuel diversification
on Kyushu.

His delegation, which included senior officials from the Energy Ministry and
the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) along with members
of the media, visited the Matsuura thermal power station in Nagasaki
Prefecture to learn about the successful coexistence of the power plant and
the environment.

The Matsuura power plant uses imported bituminous and sub-bituminous coal
with clean coal technology, called ultra supercritical (USC), which could
efficiently reduce CO2 emissions and other pollutants, said Takeo Miyauchi,
superintendent of J-Power, the operator of Matsuura thermal power station.

The plant, which has been operating for almost 27 years, is made up of two
1,000MW units. The first unit began operation in 1990, while unit two
started running in 1997, said Mr Miyauchi.

Initially, local residents were concerned about the adverse effects on their
livelihoods and the environment as they perceived coal as dirty, said Ryoji
Dairaku, deputy superintendent of the power station.

Before the construction of the first unit in 1986, efforts were made to
create better understanding with the 22,000 residents living around the
project site. Further commitments were made to guarantee that the power
plant will adhere to what it said in its official documents that were made
public, said Mr Dairaku.

The power station also conducted evacuation drills and allowed residents to
visit its facilities annually. Funding was given to nearby communities;
vegetables were grown and fishermen bred fish in floating fishing baskets
near the power plant. Matsuura fish market today hauls 80,000-90,000 tonnes
annually, ranking eighth in Japan, and is known particularly for mackerel,
said the deputy superintendent.

Coal ash was used for sea reclamation and to produce fertilisers for
distribution to the residents living around the power plant, which use 5
million tonnes of coal annually.

Mr Areepong said the Matsuura power plant's use of clean technology has
proved it can coexist with the environment and communities. In fact, the
environmental standards applied to the planned Krabi power plant are more
stringent that those J-Power used.

The transport of coal on vessels from the port to the Krabi power plant will
take place under a confined system. Coal will also be kept indoors, said Mr
Areepong. These additional measures were included after hearing the concerns
of local residents.

"We want people to see that today's technologies for coal-fired plants have
changed from what we have seen in the past. The USC technology is globally
accepted. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank provide loans for
power plants using clean technology,'' he said.

Boonyanit Wongrukmit, Egat's deputy governor for corporate social affairs,
said the planned Krabi power plant will use high-grade bituminous and
sub-bituminous coal and adopt the USC technology seen in the Matsuura power
plant. In fact, the USC technology to be used in the Krabi plant will be
more advanced and can efficiently reduce CO2 emissions to below standard
requirements, he said.

USC technology is also equipped with systems to control other pollutants,
such as selective catalytic reduction to control nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
emissions, activated carbon injection to remove mercury emissions,
electrostatic precipitator to remove dust and flue-gas desulphurisation to
remove sulphur dioxide, said Mr Boonyanit.

Coal at the Krabi power plant will be stored at an indoor facility, an
improvement on the Matsuura plant, where coal is stored outdoors.

Egat has agreed to allocate 100 million baht a year to a community
development fund for four tambons -- Pakasai, Khlong Khanan, Taling Chan and
Koh Sri Boya, which have a total of 9,185 households.

A committee, chaired by the provincial governor and made up of local
leaders, will manage the fund, Mr Boonyanit said.

Mr Boonyanit brushed aside criticisms as to why energy authorities chose to
visit the coal-fired power plant in Japan when the Krabi plant would be
built by the Chinese. He said the main equipment used for the power plant is
Western-made.

"This technology [USC] is the world standard. Wherever it is made, it meets
the same standard. All equipment and components used for the Krabi power
plant are Western-made, either by the US or Europe. The strongest point of
the USC is that it requires less coal than previous technologies, lowering
CO2 emissions by 10-20%. It also efficiently reduces other pollutants," said
Mr Boonyanit.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1209569/cleaner-coal-hope-for-krabi
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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com