http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investi ... p-coal-war
No detente in Prachuap
No detente in Prachuap
An interesting investigative report about your province down there, concerning those for and against new coal fired power plants. One thing that stood out for me is the chart about electricity usage by district. Bang Saphan uses the most and I have no idea why? What is there to use so much? Pete
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investi ... p-coal-war
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investi ... p-coal-war
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: No detente in Prachuap
Interesting article. There is a huge steel processing plant in BS which drinks all the juice.prcscct wrote:Bang Saphan uses the most and I have no idea why? What is there to use so much?
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Re: No detente in Prachuap
It makes sense than what EGAT wants to do with more power plants goes hand in hand with the building of more steel mills....I bet....I bet. Pete
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: No detente in Prachuap
The current plant produces rolled sheet steel which has relatively little waste and environmental impact, the new one they want to build will produce ingot which creates a lot of slag and more pollution which is why the locals are opposing it.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
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pharvey
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Re: No detente in Prachuap
At the end of the day, with coal fired power plants it's simply down to 3 things with regards to pollution.... a) Quality of coal (Sulphur content), is it really coal or is it lignite? Lignite is cheaper to obtain as it's opencast, but ridiculously high in Sulphur, difficult in an FGD system and ultimately highly problematic b) Quality of FGD system (Flue Gas De-sulphurization) - if good, the minimal pollution, gypsum byproduct suitable for building, roads (infill) etc. c) Quality of the operators...... enough said.
Having installed and commissioned filters at Mae Mo, I'd certainly be for the new plants...... they're clean, but more to the point I'd love the opportunity of working a little closer to HH!!
As for the steel plants...... well, there's a very valid point towards pollution.
Having installed and commissioned filters at Mae Mo, I'd certainly be for the new plants...... they're clean, but more to the point I'd love the opportunity of working a little closer to HH!!
As for the steel plants...... well, there's a very valid point towards pollution.
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" - We Now Start a New Chapter - Pennod newydd
Re: No detente in Prachuap
A follow on to last week's story. Pete
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/2 ... -democracy
Anti-Coal activists fight for ecology, democracy
Residents in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Thap Sakae district say that the environment and their rights as citizens are at stake in their fight for clean power
Published: 2/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Clad in green T-shirts featuring young sea turtles, residents of Prachuap Khiri Khan's Thap Sakae district who oppose the construction of a coal-fired power plant there say it poses a threat not only to people living in the area, but to the district's rich marine life as well.
"We often spot sea turtles and eggs of this rare species on a beach in front of Egat's 4,142-rai site, " said Sureerat Taechootrakul, head of the Thap Sakae Conservation Group.
But she said Thap Sakae's marine ecology, its sea life and the livelihoods of locals can be saved if the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) abandons plans to build a coal-fired power plant in favour of renewable energy generators.
Ms Sureerat and some 600 residents in Thap Sakae were at a recent public forum on alternative energy in Thap Sakae to reiterate their determination to prevent Egat from bringing "dirty" energy into their hometown.
"What we want is a power plant using clean and renewable energy, not a power plant fuelled by coal or other dirty energy sources. We want to decide our own future," said Ms Sureerat.
"A coal-fired power plant in our community would badly affect our livelihoods and the coastal ecology, as it would pump in seawater for use in its cooling system and discharge its waste into the sea," she said.
In line with their constitutional rights, the locals should have a say on development projects in their areas, Ms Sureerat told the forum. The event was organised by the Alternative Education Institute and the Heinrich Boll Foundation to find a solution to the deadlock over the power plant.
The Thap Sakae controversy is an example of a broader trend in Thailand whereby communities are taking action because they are aware of the environmental threat posed by some power plant projects
In a democracy, people should not have decisions that destroy their livelihoods forced upon them, said Suchada Chakpisuth, director of Thailand Information Centre for Civil Rights and Investigative Journalism.
Instead, all stakeholders should gather to exchange views and sort out differences, she said.
Egat was absent from the forum.
Thap Sakae residents are suspicious about Egat's plan to build a five-megawatt solar power plant on land inside the site of the original planned plant. Ms Sureerat said the villagers believe it might actually serve as a front for a coal-fired plant.
Once the solar power plant is built, the site would be off-limits to outsiders, giving Egat the opportunity to build the coal-fired plant in secret, she said.
"We have not rejected power plants, but we want sustainable energy projects which use clean and renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and other green energy," said Ms Sureerat.
"We are willing to cooperate if Egat develops its 4,142 rai of land as a site for a sustainable energy project."
With Egat refusing to budge, the villagers have pinned their hopes on the provincial development plan for 2012-2015, a joint agreement between communities and authorities to end the 15-year conflict.
According to the plan, Prachuap Khiri Khan's development must be based on agriculture, fisheries and tourism.
"Our province is the egg-laying ground of mackerel. Whale sharks have been spotted only 25m from Ban Krud and Thap Sakae beaches. Sea turtles are also found laying eggs on Thap Sakae beach," said Ms Sureerat.
Many villagers said the plan to build a coal-fired power plant in Thap Sakae would serve heavy industry at the cost of livelihoods, health and marine resources.
Egat was blamed for making people ill with its coal-fired power plant in Lampang's Mae Moh district. Thap Sakae villagers do not want to face the same risk.
"The Mae Moh villagers told us the health hazards are so bad there that they want to be relocated," said Thap Sakae resident Somwang Pimsor.
While proponents of the Thap Sakae power plant say it is necessary to meet the South's energy demands, energy expert Decharut Sukkamnoed said the authorities' figures for what the region requires were overblown.
The maximum demand for power consumption in the South, including Prachuap Khiri Khan, is estimated at about 2,000 megawatts. Even if the region's economy grows rapidly, energy demands in the next 20 years would be only 6,000 megawatts, he said, but the country's power development plan has set a target of 12,000 megawatts for the South.
"The surplus energy might be planned to serve steel or petrochemical industries relocated from the East to the South," he said.
Given moderate energy requirements and the need to protect marine ecology, clean and renewable energy as proposed by the villagers is practical, he added.
The ball is now in Egat's court, said Lae Dilokwitthayarat, a labour expert at Chulalongkorn University's faculty of economics. "Egat should talk more with the locals in an open manner. Both sides should also form a committee to find common ground," he said.
Clean energy is not only the answer for Thap Sakae, but also for the rest of the country, he said.
Scholar and reformist Nidhi Eoseewong said that the push for clean energy is not only an environmental matter, but a democratic one. Citizens' viewpoints must be respected, he said.
"Renewable energy technology has developed rapidly. For example, the production cost of solar cells was very high two decades ago, but now a solar cell sells for only five baht," he said.
Coal should never be considered as an energy source because it causes severe pollution at every step, from shipping to burning, said Mr Nidhi.
The locals do not want it, he said, and their voices must be respected in accordance with their constitutional right to protect their natural resources.
In their petition to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the Thap Sakae villagers have two main demands.
First, to keep coal, nuclear or gas power plants away from Thap Sakae. Second, to suspend Egat's solar power plant project at Thap Sakae until the authority reveals its full development plan for the site.
Prachuap Khiri Khan deputy governor Nirawat Punnakan said Egat had told provincial authorities it had no plans to build a coal-fired plant at Thap Sakae in the near future. But he did not rule it out in the long term.
That is why Sanong Yencham, 46, a fisherman in Chai Taley village, believes his community remains under threat from the pollution caused by coal transportation and power production.
"Our village is only one kilometre from the site of the power plant, so we would definitely be the worst hit," he said.
About 300-400 households in his village earn their livings from fishing, earning an average monthly income of 10,000 baht each.
"Our livelihood will be badly affected by pollution if a coal-fired power plant is built here. We will suffer. So will the sea turtles and other marine life," he said, pointing at his green T-shirt with the message: "Here is the egg-laying ground for sea turtles. Egat, do not enter!"
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/2 ... -democracy
Anti-Coal activists fight for ecology, democracy
Residents in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Thap Sakae district say that the environment and their rights as citizens are at stake in their fight for clean power
Published: 2/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Clad in green T-shirts featuring young sea turtles, residents of Prachuap Khiri Khan's Thap Sakae district who oppose the construction of a coal-fired power plant there say it poses a threat not only to people living in the area, but to the district's rich marine life as well.
"We often spot sea turtles and eggs of this rare species on a beach in front of Egat's 4,142-rai site, " said Sureerat Taechootrakul, head of the Thap Sakae Conservation Group.
But she said Thap Sakae's marine ecology, its sea life and the livelihoods of locals can be saved if the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) abandons plans to build a coal-fired power plant in favour of renewable energy generators.
Ms Sureerat and some 600 residents in Thap Sakae were at a recent public forum on alternative energy in Thap Sakae to reiterate their determination to prevent Egat from bringing "dirty" energy into their hometown.
"What we want is a power plant using clean and renewable energy, not a power plant fuelled by coal or other dirty energy sources. We want to decide our own future," said Ms Sureerat.
"A coal-fired power plant in our community would badly affect our livelihoods and the coastal ecology, as it would pump in seawater for use in its cooling system and discharge its waste into the sea," she said.
In line with their constitutional rights, the locals should have a say on development projects in their areas, Ms Sureerat told the forum. The event was organised by the Alternative Education Institute and the Heinrich Boll Foundation to find a solution to the deadlock over the power plant.
The Thap Sakae controversy is an example of a broader trend in Thailand whereby communities are taking action because they are aware of the environmental threat posed by some power plant projects
In a democracy, people should not have decisions that destroy their livelihoods forced upon them, said Suchada Chakpisuth, director of Thailand Information Centre for Civil Rights and Investigative Journalism.
Instead, all stakeholders should gather to exchange views and sort out differences, she said.
Egat was absent from the forum.
Thap Sakae residents are suspicious about Egat's plan to build a five-megawatt solar power plant on land inside the site of the original planned plant. Ms Sureerat said the villagers believe it might actually serve as a front for a coal-fired plant.
Once the solar power plant is built, the site would be off-limits to outsiders, giving Egat the opportunity to build the coal-fired plant in secret, she said.
"We have not rejected power plants, but we want sustainable energy projects which use clean and renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and other green energy," said Ms Sureerat.
"We are willing to cooperate if Egat develops its 4,142 rai of land as a site for a sustainable energy project."
With Egat refusing to budge, the villagers have pinned their hopes on the provincial development plan for 2012-2015, a joint agreement between communities and authorities to end the 15-year conflict.
According to the plan, Prachuap Khiri Khan's development must be based on agriculture, fisheries and tourism.
"Our province is the egg-laying ground of mackerel. Whale sharks have been spotted only 25m from Ban Krud and Thap Sakae beaches. Sea turtles are also found laying eggs on Thap Sakae beach," said Ms Sureerat.
Many villagers said the plan to build a coal-fired power plant in Thap Sakae would serve heavy industry at the cost of livelihoods, health and marine resources.
Egat was blamed for making people ill with its coal-fired power plant in Lampang's Mae Moh district. Thap Sakae villagers do not want to face the same risk.
"The Mae Moh villagers told us the health hazards are so bad there that they want to be relocated," said Thap Sakae resident Somwang Pimsor.
While proponents of the Thap Sakae power plant say it is necessary to meet the South's energy demands, energy expert Decharut Sukkamnoed said the authorities' figures for what the region requires were overblown.
The maximum demand for power consumption in the South, including Prachuap Khiri Khan, is estimated at about 2,000 megawatts. Even if the region's economy grows rapidly, energy demands in the next 20 years would be only 6,000 megawatts, he said, but the country's power development plan has set a target of 12,000 megawatts for the South.
"The surplus energy might be planned to serve steel or petrochemical industries relocated from the East to the South," he said.
Given moderate energy requirements and the need to protect marine ecology, clean and renewable energy as proposed by the villagers is practical, he added.
The ball is now in Egat's court, said Lae Dilokwitthayarat, a labour expert at Chulalongkorn University's faculty of economics. "Egat should talk more with the locals in an open manner. Both sides should also form a committee to find common ground," he said.
Clean energy is not only the answer for Thap Sakae, but also for the rest of the country, he said.
Scholar and reformist Nidhi Eoseewong said that the push for clean energy is not only an environmental matter, but a democratic one. Citizens' viewpoints must be respected, he said.
"Renewable energy technology has developed rapidly. For example, the production cost of solar cells was very high two decades ago, but now a solar cell sells for only five baht," he said.
Coal should never be considered as an energy source because it causes severe pollution at every step, from shipping to burning, said Mr Nidhi.
The locals do not want it, he said, and their voices must be respected in accordance with their constitutional right to protect their natural resources.
In their petition to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the Thap Sakae villagers have two main demands.
First, to keep coal, nuclear or gas power plants away from Thap Sakae. Second, to suspend Egat's solar power plant project at Thap Sakae until the authority reveals its full development plan for the site.
Prachuap Khiri Khan deputy governor Nirawat Punnakan said Egat had told provincial authorities it had no plans to build a coal-fired plant at Thap Sakae in the near future. But he did not rule it out in the long term.
That is why Sanong Yencham, 46, a fisherman in Chai Taley village, believes his community remains under threat from the pollution caused by coal transportation and power production.
"Our village is only one kilometre from the site of the power plant, so we would definitely be the worst hit," he said.
About 300-400 households in his village earn their livings from fishing, earning an average monthly income of 10,000 baht each.
"Our livelihood will be badly affected by pollution if a coal-fired power plant is built here. We will suffer. So will the sea turtles and other marine life," he said, pointing at his green T-shirt with the message: "Here is the egg-laying ground for sea turtles. Egat, do not enter!"
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: No detente in Prachuap
.....forgot to mention Pharvey, they're criticizing your Mae Mo operation so perhaps after install, they have let the place go to the dogs? Pete
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: No detente in Prachuap
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opin ... just-cause
Imprisoned for fighting a just cause
Published: 14/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Jintana Kaewkhao, leader of the Ban Krut Conservation Group, has been locked up in jail for four days now.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday sentenced Jintana to four months in jail for trespassing, a decade ago, on land belonging to Union Power Development Co, developer of the now-scrapped coal-fired power plant in Bang Saphan district of Prachuab Khiri Khan.
On Jan 13, 2001, Jintana, who lives in Ban Krut, and her group went to the Chinese banquet hosted by the firm to submit a letter opposing the construction of a 1,400-megawatt power plant. Their visit caused a fracas and Jintana was later accused of trespassing and splashing wastewater on the dining tables.
The Chinese banquet case has drawn the attention of many legal experts and environmentalists. This is not only because the defendant is a high-profile local leader, but also because the verdict in this case could have an impact on the Thai environmental movement.
The lower court acquitted Jintana in 2005, citing weak evidence. In its verdict, the court noted that Jintana's alleged act was done with a purpose to protect the community's right to manage natural resources which is in accordance with the 1997 constitution. Therefore, the case had to be studied very carefully, to prevent the use of legalities as a tool to oppress a good person.
The Appeal Court overturned the lower court's ruling and sentenced her to six months in jail. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict, but reduced the jail term to four months since Jintana had given herself up to the authorities.
In fact, the Jan 13 banquet bedlam was just a small episode in a decade-long battle. Ban Krut villagers started protesting against the Hin Krut power plant in 1996, as they believed the plant would destroy the marine and coastal environment as well as their livelihood. They won the battle in 2004 when the government decided to scrap the power plant project. Jintana and her fellow villagers have gone through several hardships during their struggle to protect the southern seaside community from the power plant. But the worst thing that happened to the Ban Krut conservation movement was when the group's core leader, Charoen Wat-aksorn, was gunned down in June 2004, shortly before the Thaksin Shinawatra government officially scrapped the power plant project the same year.
Jintana has known from the beginning that the fight against giant investors who always team up with government agencies in pushing for mega-projects is not easy and could put her life in trouble, even danger.
Jintana's home was once attacked by a group of unidentified gunmen who sprayed bullets at her house possibly because of her leading role in the protest against the project.
However, the urge to fight on for the community's right to keep its environment clean and to manage its natural resources was greater than her fear.
So, it was not surprising to see the 49-year-old mother of three remain calm and strong the day the judge handed down the four-month jail sentence.
"I accept the verdict," she said. "I know that capitalism will find the means to get rid of [environmentalists] _ either by getting us killed or being convicted by law.
"My only worry is that my case could discourage other local leaders who might face the same fate as me. I beg them to stay courageous and pursue the mission to protect the environment and natural resources for the generations to come."
I met Jintana, or Phi Noi, earlier this year at the house of her environmentalist friend, Pachern Ketkaew, in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Mr Pachern, who led a protest against a power plant in Muang district, was almost killed when two gunmen sprayed bullets at his house in January.
Jintana looked a bit tired, but her courage and fighting spirit was as strong as when I first met her 11 years ago, when I was assigned to cover the Ban Krut villagers' protest against the power plant.
Jintana is now serving her term behind bars because of her effort to preserve Prachuap Khiri Khan's sea and the beautiful Ban Krut beach. Her ordeal is a big reminder for Thai society that there are many environmental crusaders who have to sacrifice their freedom and comfort, possibly even their lives, to protect the environment and natural resources for us all.
Imprisoned for fighting a just cause
Published: 14/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Jintana Kaewkhao, leader of the Ban Krut Conservation Group, has been locked up in jail for four days now.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday sentenced Jintana to four months in jail for trespassing, a decade ago, on land belonging to Union Power Development Co, developer of the now-scrapped coal-fired power plant in Bang Saphan district of Prachuab Khiri Khan.
On Jan 13, 2001, Jintana, who lives in Ban Krut, and her group went to the Chinese banquet hosted by the firm to submit a letter opposing the construction of a 1,400-megawatt power plant. Their visit caused a fracas and Jintana was later accused of trespassing and splashing wastewater on the dining tables.
The Chinese banquet case has drawn the attention of many legal experts and environmentalists. This is not only because the defendant is a high-profile local leader, but also because the verdict in this case could have an impact on the Thai environmental movement.
The lower court acquitted Jintana in 2005, citing weak evidence. In its verdict, the court noted that Jintana's alleged act was done with a purpose to protect the community's right to manage natural resources which is in accordance with the 1997 constitution. Therefore, the case had to be studied very carefully, to prevent the use of legalities as a tool to oppress a good person.
The Appeal Court overturned the lower court's ruling and sentenced her to six months in jail. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict, but reduced the jail term to four months since Jintana had given herself up to the authorities.
In fact, the Jan 13 banquet bedlam was just a small episode in a decade-long battle. Ban Krut villagers started protesting against the Hin Krut power plant in 1996, as they believed the plant would destroy the marine and coastal environment as well as their livelihood. They won the battle in 2004 when the government decided to scrap the power plant project. Jintana and her fellow villagers have gone through several hardships during their struggle to protect the southern seaside community from the power plant. But the worst thing that happened to the Ban Krut conservation movement was when the group's core leader, Charoen Wat-aksorn, was gunned down in June 2004, shortly before the Thaksin Shinawatra government officially scrapped the power plant project the same year.
Jintana has known from the beginning that the fight against giant investors who always team up with government agencies in pushing for mega-projects is not easy and could put her life in trouble, even danger.
Jintana's home was once attacked by a group of unidentified gunmen who sprayed bullets at her house possibly because of her leading role in the protest against the project.
However, the urge to fight on for the community's right to keep its environment clean and to manage its natural resources was greater than her fear.
So, it was not surprising to see the 49-year-old mother of three remain calm and strong the day the judge handed down the four-month jail sentence.
"I accept the verdict," she said. "I know that capitalism will find the means to get rid of [environmentalists] _ either by getting us killed or being convicted by law.
"My only worry is that my case could discourage other local leaders who might face the same fate as me. I beg them to stay courageous and pursue the mission to protect the environment and natural resources for the generations to come."
I met Jintana, or Phi Noi, earlier this year at the house of her environmentalist friend, Pachern Ketkaew, in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Mr Pachern, who led a protest against a power plant in Muang district, was almost killed when two gunmen sprayed bullets at his house in January.
Jintana looked a bit tired, but her courage and fighting spirit was as strong as when I first met her 11 years ago, when I was assigned to cover the Ban Krut villagers' protest against the power plant.
Jintana is now serving her term behind bars because of her effort to preserve Prachuap Khiri Khan's sea and the beautiful Ban Krut beach. Her ordeal is a big reminder for Thai society that there are many environmental crusaders who have to sacrifice their freedom and comfort, possibly even their lives, to protect the environment and natural resources for us all.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: No detente in Prachuap
That's Thai justice for you, lock someone up ten years after the incident, the woman deserves a medal, not jail.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson