13 Thais And 7 Foreigners Arrested In Rayong

[sriracha john]

Activists arrested for trying to block unloading of coal

Greenpeace activists chained themselves to a dock and hung banners to protest against the unloading of "dirty fuel" at BLCP's coal-fired power plant in Rayong yesterday.

The 20 protesters - seven foreigners and 13 Thais - tried to immobilise cranes that would have been used to unload the coal from an Australian ship. However, police at Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate arrested the activists before they reached the cranes in a rubber dinghy and a long-tail boat.

The activists only succeeded in hanging a banner saying "Clean Energy Now" at BLCP's harbour.

"The BLCP coal plant will exacerbate the impact of climate change, which is already starting to exact a heavy toll on the people and economies of Thailand and Southeast Asia," said Tara Buakamsri of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

"It does not help that Australia is fuelling climate change in the region with its coal exports. Thailand must stop any further use of coal and put a policy in place for the massive increase of renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects."

Greenpeace claimed the plant would release nearly 12 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually - and cause Thailand's carbon emissions to rise by almost 6 per cent a year.

Coal is the dirtiest of fossil fuels, emitting 29 per cent more carbon per unit of energy than oil and 80 per cent more than gas. It is a major contributor to climate change, Greenpeace says.

A senior BLCP staff member denied the accusation, saying the plant had implemented all measures demanded by its environmental impact assessment.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source claimed the plant used high-grade bituminous coal -not low-grade lignite that would emit a high volume of sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

The source said the protest did not cost any economic damage to the company and the unloading of the coal would go ahead as scheduled.

"This was the third time the activists have visited us in this way. We are not surprised anymore and are well prepared to cope with it," the source said.

The plant, jointly owned by Thailand's Banpu Plc and Hong Kong-based China Light and Power Corp, is an independent power producer with the capacity to generate 1,434 megawatts of electricity.

BLCP has a contract to sell electricity to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) for 25 years.

The plant is currently being tested, with its first transmission to Egat due next month.

- The Nation

[Jai Dee]

Topic moved to News Forum.

[Jai Dee]

Greenpeace activists try to prevent the unloading of coal at the BLCP power plant in Rayong yesterday.

Source: The Nation - 8 September 2006

[sriracha john]

From the event organizer's website:

Activists halt Australian coal export to Thailand

Facing down stick-wielding personnel, water-canon-spraying marine police,and gun-wielding Navy Seals, five Greenpeace activists in Thailand have delayed a shipment of Australian coal from being unloaded at a controversial coal plant in Maptaphut, Thailand.

The five activists chained themselves to the pier bumper and hung banners that read ‘Coal = climate change, Clean Energy Now’. They remained for two hours before being detained by police with the help of Navy Seals.

A 170,00 tonne carrier, MV Star Europe, carrying a large shipment of coal from Newcastle, NSW (the world’s largest coal exporting port) has been anchored a few nautical miles away, waiting for the area to be cleared.

The coal plant, BLCP, is jointly owned by Banpu and Hong Kong based China Light and scheduled to open in October. BLCP is a classic example of dirty international financing by the likes of Asian Development Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

"The BLCP coal plant will exacerbate the impacts of climate change, which is already starting to exact a heavy toll on the people and economies of Thailand and Southeast Asia. It does not help that Australia is fuelling climate change in the region with its coal exports," said Tara Buakamsri of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

"Thailand must stop any further use of coal and put a policy in place for the massive increase of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects."

"Coal and coal-fired power stations have been strongly opposed by communities in the region. However, the Australian government refuses to take action on global warming while ignoring climate impacts on its own citizens and other countries in Asia. The whole region will be further threatened by the increase of investments in coal power plants across Asia many of which will rely on the supply of Australian coal." said Catherine Fitzpatrick, Greenpeace Australia Pacific energy campaigner.

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/ne...lian-coal090706

[kmart]

Coal usage is on the increase worldwide. Doubts about gas supplies and hegemony on imports, and the negative image of nuclear (combined with the horrendous operating and de-contaminating costs) have made coal the fuel of choice, especially for the booming economies of India and China.

China in particular can't mine enough coal to get into its power plants. Hence loads of unlicensed pits c/w zero safety that kill hundreds of workers / year.

Sorry Greenpeace.

[Scott]

I've always thought nuclear is the best way to go--not necessarily in Thailand, but in developed places that can locate them far from things like active fault lines. I think we know enough about the dangers to build them safely, it's a matter of making sure we aren't doing it on the cheap.

[steveromagnino]

I've always thought nuclear is the best way to go--not necessarily in Thailand, but in developed places that can locate them far from things like active fault lines. I think we know enough about the dangers to build them safely, it's a matter of making sure we aren't doing it on the cheap.

In general, nuclear is not cost effective vs. coal; and that's even taking into account the faulty models which don't take into account 10,000 years of storing the waste.

From my limited past experience as a pricing manager in the energy industry, numbers might be something like this to make electricity (excluding transmission, transmission losses and distribution) and making a HUGE number of assumptions - currency is er, NZD, unit is per kWh:

- hydro about 1-2c

- coal modern combined cycle 3-5c

- natural gas modern combined cycle assuming there is some nearby 6-7c

- wind in a windy place 9-15c

- solar 12-20c

- nuclear 14c+

Nuclear is getting another big push from GE at the moment with their smaller size reactors; however it is interesting to note these are going to places like China, where I have some doubt they have the expertise or desire to look after these things for 10,000 years. These numbers might be wildly different in a country outside NZ which has a much bigger market; NZ was not a good place for nuclear due to the way/time/place in which electricity is consumed; a bizarre source/price of gas; screwed up deregulation process and a fair bit of other choice including hydro.

Europe is pushing anti carbon dioxide, CO2 trading and the Kyoto thingie because they already have the easy job of being able to claim reductions since they were horrendously bad at emissions in the base line year; and have since improved - Eastern Europe for instance was an easy fix.

USA and Aussie are anti Kyoto; NZ had no chance of getting close to it; and then you have people introducing hare brained schemes like planting forests and selling credits; and just now other people are starting to ask what if the forrest gets chopped down?!

And so in walks nuclear, which seems so great because it doesn't have the CO2 thing. But.... it is potentially a lottery winner for massive pollution and problems.

These Greenpeace people; interesting to note where they pick their battles. Why don't they protest Lampang and the cess pit <deleted> lignite generation up there which is already happening? Why don't they insist EGAT adopt energy efficiency education policy, and teach Thai people not to indulge in wasteful power use?

Wrong target and thus a pointless protest.

[kmart]

These Greenpeace people; interesting to note where they pick their battles. Why don't they protest Lampang and the cess pit <deleted> lignite generation up there which is already happening? Why don't they insist EGAT adopt energy efficiency education policy, and teach Thai people not to indulge in wasteful power use?

Wrong target and thus a pointless protest.

Agreed. EGAT Mae Moh have been chucking out high-sulphur <deleted> in Lampang for over 12 years now; claiming their "filters are faulty". The local branch of Greenpeace in Thailand are typically style over substance flakes that will target some foreign owned company re-arranging a few coconut trees. (Remember the Hollywood "The Beach" movie crew being hassled by these twits?)

-Rather than protesting at their own mega-corporations and the crap they pump out.

Given that anyone who might raise slight objections to illegal mining / rock blasting seems to end up face-down in a ditch here; can't say I blame them.

Btw; Nice to see that their protest banner was "locally sourced" though.

Having put my life at risk and evaded all my would-be capturers, I would feel just a tad silly eventually unfurling that.

Edited September 8, 2006 by kmart

[nostrel]

actualy there are clean coal plants now that pump the exhaust back under ground but i doubt if these are operating in LOS ,but who knows.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4466040.stm

[Jai Dee]

A Greenpeace activist check coals they dumped in front of the Energy Ministry. The activist group protested against energy policies that promote the burning of fossil fuels, including coal, that cause climate change. They also hold banner which said the ministry’s name was changed to “Climate Change” Ministry.

Source: The Nation - 6 September 2006