Thailand wisely ignoring the ‘Eco-Agenda’

During the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the Thai delegation announced ambitious plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2065.

Less than a year later, the country is wisely ignoring the eco ranters and ravers and moving toward adding four new coal-fired power generators to its grid.

The cabinet has already approved the first two plants, twin generators that together will have an installed capacity of 660 megawatts. They are scheduled to begin construction this year and operate from 2026 to 2050, and will form part of a series of coal-powered generators in the Mae Moh power plant.

The plant currently has 10 generators with a combined capacity of 2,200 MW, and is powered by coal from an adjacent 2,880-hectare (7,116-acre) open-pit lignite mine.

The country’s power development plan for 2018-2037 also calls for another two 1,000-MW coal plants, though their exact locations have not yet been publicly specified. One, in the country’s east, is scheduled to go into operation in 2033. Another, in the south, will commence a year later. Both are slated to operate for 25 years.

As countries around the world, and in the region, increasingly recognize the need to phase out coal, Thailand looks to be moving toward the fossil fuel, retaining more than 6,000 MW of coal capacity within its 56,000-MW annual supply system, even as it pledges to cut emissions.

The largest coal power plant.

Owned by Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), the Mae Moh facility in Lampang province is the country’s largest and oldest coal-fired power plant. The Thai government now plans to build two additional generators at the plant. Image © Luke Duggleby / Greenpeace.

‘Low-cost energy’

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), a state-owned enterprise and the country’s sole lignite miner, says coal-fired power plants are necessary to support “low-cost electricity” and avoid power shortages in years to come.

The government says adding new coal generators like the new Mae Moh project will not affect emissions goals, since the plant will incorporate state-of-the-art, efficient technologies such as ultra-supercritical steam generators.

The post Thailand wisely ignoring the ‘Eco-Agenda’ appeared first on BangkokJack News.

Thailand wisely ignoring the ‘Eco-Agenda’

Thailand wisely ignoring the ‘Eco-Agenda’

Thailand wisely ignoring the ‘Eco-Agenda’

Thailand wisely ignoring the ‘Eco-Agenda’

Thailand wisely ignoring the ‘Eco-Agenda’