Nuclear high on national agenda

Strong push made at public hearing

POST REPORTERS

Nuclear energy will no longer be considered an alternative fuel for Thailand's energy development over the next 15 years, but should be considered an essential source and part of a concrete economic development plan for the country, Energy Ministry officials say.

The ministry yesterday held a second hearing for the 15-year Power Development Plan (PDP), from 2007 until 2021, at the Army Club. It had cancelled the first hearing at Siam City Hotel in February after facing a mass protest from 600 people opposing the construction of power plants, particularly coal-fired ones, in Prachuap Khiri Khan province.

Around 300 people, including academics, investors, bankers, and some environmentalists, participated in the hearing yesterday with military police providing tight security. No protesters appeared.

The ministry and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) proposed nine options for the hearing, compared to the three they had intended to present at the first hearing.

The nine plans are based on three assumptions of power-demand forecast _ base case, high case and low case. Each of the cases contains three options, depending on levels of projected power demand over the next 15 years.

The base case sets new electricity capacity required over the next 15 years of 31,790 megawatts (MW), the high case calls for 36,790 MW, and the low case projects 27,430 MW.

In the first hearing, only one of the proposed options called for nuclear power project development but in the new proposal, all nine feature nuclear projects with capacity of 4,000 MW, half of which would come online in 2020 and the other half in 2021. All of the plans contain coal-fired power projects, with total capacities ranging from 2,100 to 21,000 MW depending on power-demand assumptions.

Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand said the government proposed nuclear power as a concrete plan for Thailand's future power development since, eventually, the country could not avoid relying on such energy, particularly in the face of mounting concern over global warming.
''If we make the decision today, it doesn't mean we can develop a nuclear project tomorrow. It requires at least seven years to prepare staff, technology, infrastructure, and legal conditions, and another six to build it,'' he said.

Without nuclear energy, said Dr Piyasvasti, it would be difficult for electricity supply developments to meet future demand, which increases by 1,400 MW per year on average.

Natural gas makes up 70% of the fuel used for power generation in Thailand, a figure officials consider too high.

The country's natural gas reserves will be used up within 30 years while hydropower capacity is limited and coal-fired plants face strong protests. Renewable energy must be promoted but it can hardly be counted on as a mainstream source.

''If the Thai people agree that Thailand should have a nuclear power plant, building only one plant is not worthwhile. Three or four plants are more appropriate to achieve an economy of scale,'' he said.

Many Asian countries have turned to nuclear power, he said. Vietnam has started developing four nuclear plants while Indonesia has decided to begin a project. China, South Korea, Japan and India all use nuclear power.

''The private sector is welcome to develop a nuclear power but in the pioneering stage, Egat is the most ready,'' he said.

Dr Piyasvasti said the PDP was not unchangeable. ''It's like a newspaper operation. Even though the deadline for printing was set, if there is a coup, the deadline can be extended,'' he noted.

Bangkok Post
Tuesday April 03, 2007