Thailand's electricity authority to build coal-fired power plant in South

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand will build an 800MW coal-fired power plant worth initially Bt60 billion in Krabi.

This will be EGAT's first plant in the South.

The Krabi plant is being built on the site of an existing coal-fired plant, so EGAT believes it can make the communities in the area understand the need for the project, said Pongdith Potchana, assistant to the EGAT governor.

The state agency will also conduct a public hearing with communities late this month and will hold another two hearings after that as part of the Environment Health Impact Assessment procedure.

It is also ready to make agreements with the communities on emissions of sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and micro-dust, which will be lower than the legal maximums. This is meant to ease public concern on the environmental impacts of the project. He said new technology could enable the coal-fired plant to emit such pollutants at far below the levels permitted by law.

Pongdith said Thailand could suffer a power crisis in the next 10 years if relevant parties fail to make clear what the Kingdom's main energy sources will be.

He added that this issue should be made part of the national agenda, including sorting out the ratio of traditional to alternative energy sources. Egat is ready to develop power plants according to the common consensus of all parties, and bear its share of the benefits and the downsides.

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