SATUN: Environmental activists kicked off a door-knocking campaign against coal-fired power plants in coastal provinces in the South yesterday.
The Save Andaman from Coal Network launched the campaign yesterday to persuade local people in communities along the Andaman coast to call on the government to halt coal-fired power projects in the South of Thailand.
Until June 2, the activists will travel from Satun to Trang, Krabi, Phangnga and Phuket to educate people about the impact of coal-fired plants.
"We want to call on the government to scrap coal-fired power plants in Krabi and other provinces," said Akradej Chakjunda from the network. At least two plants have been planned for construction in southern provinces.
Coal-fired power plants were not needed in the South as renewable energy options can feed power demand in the region, he said.
Environmental impact assessments of a coal-fired plant, with 870 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity, and a coal sea port at a Ramsar site in Baan Klong Rua of Krabi are being scrutinised by the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning.
Mr Akradej also urged the government to give southern provinces 10 years to prove that renewable energy can be an efficient option before going ahead with coal-fired power plants.
In Krabi, there are 27 oil palm factories, 13 of which together can produce 90MW of power, said Prasitchai Nunuan, another network member. If every factory produces power efficiently, the combined result will be about 800MW, which equals the amount of energy provided by a coal-fired power plant.
Natural resources are abundant in the South, said Jae-na Wattanapan, a local environmental activist, so the government should not push for destructive development projects such as coal-fired plants. She believed if a plant is built in Krabi as a pilot project, others would soon follow in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla.