Egat may delay four coal plants to generate more local support

ENERGY / NEW POWER PLANTS

Egat may delay four coal plants to generate more local support

YUTHANA PRAIWAN

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) may delay construction of new coal-fired power plants for one year to generate more support among local communities, deputy governor Suttipong Teppitak said yesterday.

''Considering the entire situation, it (coal-fired power) may need to be postponed for one year to begin joining the grid around 2015,'' he said. ''We need more time to assure the understanding of local communities.''

Egat is still in the process of selecting a site to build four coal-fired plants with total capacity of 2,800 megawatts as prescribed in the Power Development Plan (PDP). The output is set to enter the national grid from 2014 to 2016.

After the site selection is done, Mr Suttipong said, Egat must secure acceptance from local communities, which is expected to take at least a year.

Previous coal-fired plants were scrapped due to strong opposition, he added, so Egat would need to move cautiously in educating people about the efficiency of clean-coal technology.

Despite the one-year delay, power supply would be equivalent to demand due to the latest bidding results for Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

A combined 4,400 megawatts were awarded, 1,200 more than previously planned. The three winners for the latest IPPs were Advance Agro's 540-MW coal-fired power plant; Glow Energy's 660-MW coal plant; and Japan-based J Power's 3,200-MW gas-fired plant. All output will enter the grid from 2012 to 2014.

Mr Sombat said Egat would also await the establishment of the Energy Tax Fund, which will be set up to comply with the new Energy Business Act that came into effect late last year.

The Energy Tax Fund is designed to raise funds from electricity producers, which will be required to pay 0.01 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit) for gas-fired plants and 0.02 baht for coal-fired plants.

The money would be used to prevent pollution and ease the environmental impact on communities near plants.

The fund would also be used for local development, targeting both communities near new and existing power plants.

Some funds were collected from 10 private power plants in seven provinces before the new law came into force.

Egat also plans to study an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), the latest technology for coal-fired generators that it may use in the new plants.

Mr Suttipong hoped IGCC technology would be available at a low price since global climate change awareness has prompted power generator manufacturers in North America and the Europe to supply lower-cost technology.

Egat also is accelerating overseas investments through Egat International Ltd. This year it plans to link up with other global power companies.

Egat's revenues from abroad last year were 2.2 billion baht, mostly from power plant operation and maintenance services in neighbouring countries.