Will Thailand choke on the tailpipe of Bangkok's eco-hubris?

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Will Thailand choke on the tailpipe of Bangkok's eco-hubris?

By Don Sambandaraksa, Special Correspondent -

 

The Mae Moh coal burning power plant in the northern province of Lampang. Photo: Watanyou Intachai / Flickr

 

BANGKOK: -- Green – not army but eco – is en vogue. Electric vehicles have been buzzing in the headlines, with Deputy PM Somkid Jatusripitak saying the country will become a hub for electric vehicles, or EV, and the Energy Ministry pushing plans to reduce taxes on EVs to spur adoption.

 

But while the Bangkok elite talks about how green it will be with a shiny new Tesla or BMW i3 EV, are they actually saving the planet? Thailand’s mid-20th century energy mix – namely fossil fuels such as coal – could mean the green brigade’s misguided idealism will make things worse.

 

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/opinion/2016/09/23/will-thailand-choke-tailpipe-bangkoks-ev-hubris/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2016-09-23

[trogers]

EV is not the answer. The bicycle is...

[taichiplanet]

a good way to reduce emissions is for all the politicians to keep their mouths shut.

[jamesbrock]

17 minutes ago, trogers said:

EV is not the answer. The bicycle is...

 

Bicycles would be as quick, if not quicker, for a lot of commutes.

[Brer Fox]

Oh no! Not another hub. Must be the third one this month.

[Alive]

The headline has it right Thailand is right next to Bangkok. Whatever Bangkok does usually the poor or rural people have to pay for it in some way. This is called Thainess by some.

[PatOngo]

Will Thailand choke on the tailpipe of Bangkok's eco-hubris?

Never! Come on Thailand, you're on the cusp of greatness!

[eliotness]

What's the point of having EVs if the electricity they need is produced by fossil fuel burning.  Oh of course I forgot, the coal fired power stations are outside of Bangkok so the pollution can be moved somewhere else.   Not just a Thai thing, happens all over the world, unfortunately !

[maoro2013]

Yes the energy still has to be generated somehow. Electricity is not green

[happyinthailand]

Bangkok is flat and apart from the heat, a near perfect cycling environment. Perhaps the Government officers (after all many of them are ex military and presumably fit) should set an example by cycling. If they do that, they will make safe cycle lanes all over Bangkok. In Europe, many MPs and ministers cycle to work.

[tpaul1]

Of course electricity can be generated greenly. There is more than enough sunlight in one day to generate a year's consumption. It is about political and society's will and priorities. For a few days this year Portugal's electricity was completely carbon neutral and many other countries are massively reducing their use of no renewables and pledged to be carbon neutral such as Norway, Denmark, Sweden, even Costa Rica. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_neutrality

[Emster23]

"Eco-hubris"? That's rich. As usual, it is all about appearance, speeches, and no action. If they could just recover the methane from all the BS, then could power the buses for weeks.

[HoboKay]

There are other more pertinent issues than the eco-hubris? Is this a sponsored piece to market EVs or PHEVs to the uninitiated locals?

[tpaul1]

The other thing to mention is the cost factor of solar vs convention power sources, which would indicate that in the medium to long term solar and other renewables such as wind will be cheaper than some conventional sources so Thailand should adopt renewables now if they are thinking ahead to the long term (solar plants will still be generating in 100 years requiring very little investment after the installation cost is recovered so the sooner the better).  In any case, in 10-15 years from now, when the EVs are still on the road, the power mix will be in the renewable's favour more and more even if Thailand is a slow adopter of clean energy. It will come to Thailand because it will be cheaper than other sources and economics will be a bigger persuader than ethics in this part of the World; so we need to see this not as a static situation as of today but longer term.  A good article here about the subject ( talking about the US but still relevant)

 

http://solarcellcentral.com/cost_page.html

[dieseldave1951]

5 hours ago, jamesbrock said:

 

Bicycles would be as quick, if not quicker, for a lot of commutes.

but not safer 

[jamesbrock]

6 minutes ago, dieseldave1951 said:

but not safer 

 

If there were only bicycles...

[HoboKay]

23 minutes ago, jamesbrock said:

 

If there were only bicycles...

I'm all for cycling but afraid the tropical climate will ruin the experience.

[timewilltell]

2 hours ago, eliotness said:

What's the point of having EVs if the electricity they need is produced by fossil fuel burning.  Oh of course I forgot, the coal fired power stations are outside of Bangkok so the pollution can be moved somewhere else.   Not just a Thai thing, happens all over the world, unfortunately !

 

No - it's just the usual lack of thought to anything whilst tripping over themselves to try to get some kudos. 

[jamesbrock]

14 minutes ago, HoboKay said:

I'm all for cycling but afraid the tropical climate will ruin the experience.

 

Done plenty of cycling in Thailand - early mornings aren't too bad at all. Much prefer cycling in Thailand than southern Australia!

 

That being said, commuting in work clothes wouldn't be good in the humidity.

[HoboKay]

33 minutes ago, jamesbrock said:

 

Done plenty of cycling in Thailand - early mornings aren't too bad at all. Much prefer cycling in Thailand than southern Australia!

 

That being said, commuting in work clothes wouldn't be good in the humidity.

Weather in the mornings in Thailand are definitely more consistent and desirable than the often wonky downunder weather, especially down south. I can only speak for Melbourne, Victoria where I've spent considerable time as a student.

 

Unless you place of work is conveniently located beside a soapy massage or spa, definitely not cycling in Thailand heat.

[HoboKay]

33 minutes ago, jamesbrock said:

 

Done plenty of cycling in Thailand - early mornings aren't too bad at all. Much prefer cycling in Thailand than southern Australia!

 

That being said, commuting in work clothes wouldn't be good in the humidity.

Weather in the mornings in Thailand are definitely more consistent and desirable than the often wonky downunder weather, especially down south. I can only speak for Melbourne, Victoria where I've spent considerable time as a student.

 

Unless you place of work is conveniently located beside a soapy massage or spa, definitely not cycling in Thailand heat.

[elgordo38]

8 hours ago, trogers said:

EV is not the answer. The bicycle is...

Is that like going the full circle. From a bicycle ye came and to a bicycle you shall return. 

[manarak]

8 hours ago, trogers said:

EV is not the answer. The bicycle is...

 

yes... all those sweaty loso filthy peasants shouldn't be able to afford a motorized vehicle anyway.

[Thian]

Motobikes drive 60km on a litre....compare that to a Benz which uses 10 times as much....

[starky]

6 hours ago, happyinthailand said:

Bangkok is flat and apart from the heat, a near perfect cycling environment. Perhaps the Government officers (after all many of them are ex military and presumably fit) should set an example by cycling. If they do that, they will make safe cycle lanes all over Bangkok. In Europe, many MPs and ministers cycle to work.

Bit lo-so riding a bike innit? Need at least one merc with driver and Black tinted windows to get me round or how are the lower classes gonna know who the <deleted> I am?

[Xircal]

8 hours ago, maoro2013 said:

Yes the energy still has to be generated somehow. Electricity is not green

 

It will be if produced by wind turbines. But you have to ask yourself why with all the sunshine that Thailand gets hardly anybody invests in solar panels.

[maoro2013]

7 hours ago, Xircal said:

 

It will be if produced by wind turbines. But you have to ask yourself why with all the sunshine that Thailand gets hardly anybody invests in solar panels.

Yes I agree with what you say, however solar and wind generation has generally proven to be inefficient compared to coal fired and nuclear production. The hydro power seems to be efficient though, however there is a deficiency of that.

 

There exists a fear of the nuclear production after various 'accidents' although Australia has had one in Lucas Heigjhts for decades, albeit small and I am not sure whether still in operation. The UK has some going, or did.

 

Although, one off, don't forget the green issue about what is used in constructing the various options.

[Xircal]

10 hours ago, maoro2013 said:

Yes I agree with what you say, however solar and wind generation has generally proven to be inefficient compared to coal fired and nuclear production. The hydro power seems to be efficient though, however there is a deficiency of that.

 

There exists a fear of the nuclear production after various 'accidents' although Australia has had one in Lucas Heigjhts for decades, albeit small and I am not sure whether still in operation. The UK has some going, or did.

 

Although, one off, don't forget the green issue about what is used in constructing the various options.

 

In the Netherlands we have wind farms galore. They generate 28% of all electricity used by trams, street lighting and lighting in goverment buildings. Trams especially run solely on electricity produced this way.

 

Also many housing blocks have solar panels on the roof which not only produce the electrical power for the whole block, the excess is sold to the national grid.

 

Maybe it's the quality of the solar panels in Thailand which is the problem rather than their usage.

 

 

Edited September 24, 2016 by Xircal