Greenpeace Leads Campaign Against Coal-fired Power Plants

[Jai Dee]

Greenpeace leads campaign against coal-fired power plants

Greenpeace joins hands with independent researchers, consumers and community networks in campaigning against coal-fired electricity generating plants.

They have called on policy-makers to review the Power Development Plan under which many power plants which will use coal as fuel will be built.

Thara Buakhamsri (ธารา บัวคำศรี), a Greenpeace coordinator, said Thailand is now at a crossroads where it has to choose between fossil fuels which will generate economic benefits for only a few giant energy businesses and reusable energy which will benefit the entire society and protect the environment.

Supakij Nanthaworakarn (ศุภกิจ นันทะวรการ), an independent researcher, said coal-fired power plants require huge investments, hire a small number of workers, severely damage the environment, cause sickness and death and the fuel has to be imported. Several studies indicated that 30% of the total electricity demand could be produced from clean energy within 2020 if supported by the government, Mr. Supakij said.

The campaign was meant to convey anti-coal messages to the three-day Thai Power 2006 conference to be opened today in Bangkok to discuss Thailand’s energy security.

Under the Power Development Plan, Thailand would have to increase its electricity production by 13,000 megawatts between 2011 and 2015.

Half of that amount would be produced by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and the other half by independent power producers.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 21 June 2006

[chownah]

"Reusable energy", that's a neat trick....how do they do it?

[Chang_paarp]

Just tell them the choice is coal or nuclear and watch the story change.

[Mighty Mouse]

Thailand should go nuclear............

.........and bury the nuclear waste under Patong Beach.

Long live Pattaya.

[Jai Dee]

Energy plans called unsustainable

Government plans to increase the number of coal-fired power plants pose a serious threat to the economic, social and environmental health of the country, Greenpeace said yesterday.

The environmental group joined a number of local environmentalists yesterday in calling for the government to rethink its energy policies ahead of the Fourth Thai Power 2006 Conference, which begins in Bangkok today.

“Thailand is now at a crossroads. If we continue moving [in the direction of] a fossil fuel-based economy we will end up with a situation where a few energy conglomerates take all the benefits while the rest [of us] suffer the impacts of pollution and climate change,” said Tara Buakamsri, Energy and Climate Change campaigner with Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

“If we choose a massive uptake of renewable energy we can have both economic development and environmental protection for all.”

According to official figures, some 66 percent of electricity consumption last April was derived from natural gas, 14.6 percent from coal, 8.4 percent from fuel oil, 5.7 percent from hydropower and 5.2 percent from other forms of fuel.

But due to rising fuel prices and shrinking national oil and gas reserves, the government is concerned about becoming dependent on imports for its energy needs and is looking to diversify the sector, particular by increasing the use of coal.

Energy officials argue that with new “clean-coal” technology, coal-based power plants can be as environmentally friendly as oil- or gas-based power facilities, and is economically sounder because coal is not as susceptible as other fossil fuels to sudden price changes.

And increasing coal consumption has cross-party support. The opposition Democrat party this week also said it was in favor of increasing the amount of energy that is derived from coal-fired power plants.

“We absolutely agree. In fact, we’ve been saying [we need to build a new coal-fired power plant] for some time,” said deputy party leader Korn Chatikavanij.

“A lot of the problems are with the communities. Nobody wants a coal-fired power plant in their community, so rather than having the private sector or EGAT [Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand] build the plant, the government should provide an appropriate site.”

The current tax system also needs to be revised to ensure tax from EGAT power plants goes to the communities where they are based rather than to Bangkok, he added.

However, critics say that with government support, Thailand could derive at least 30 percent of its power from sustainable energy sources by the year 2020, and that it does not need to invest in expanding its use of fossil fuel-based energy sources.

“It has been crystal clear from our study that investing in coal-fired power plants is the most costly [option], offers fewer jobs [and] has grave environmental and health impacts,” said Suphakit Nantavorakarn, an independent researcher from the Health System Research Institute.

“In comparison, renewable energy is very competitive and has real answers to problems of energy security, climate change and pollution,” Suphakit said.

“The more we rely on coal the more we become dependent on other countries. Our economic, social and environmental well-being will be eroded by coal.”

The conference, which ends Friday, will be followed next month by the ASEAN Energy Ministers Meeting, which kicks off in Vientiane on July 26.

Source: ThaiDay - 21 June 2006

[naka]

Greenpeace ... a bunch of tree hugging numbskulls, who only have

complaints ... never answers

Naka.

[oopapasan]

Greenpeace ... a bunch of tree hugging numbskulls, who only have

complaints ... never answers

Naka.

Agreed they are nothing but a pain in the arse.They are bloodsuckers

[GuestHouse]

Before we go into a rant against Greenpeace and the environmental lobby, let me add this.

I work in the Oil and Gas business, almost all of my work for the past 20 years has been as a direct result of Environmental and Safety Legislation.

Greenpeace, and others, push for legislation/changes to policy – The policy/legislation eventually changes and large amounts of money are made.

Environmentalism makes sense on a lot of different levels, including but not only caring for the environment.