The unexpected approval of a report assessing the environmental and health impacts of a coal-fired power plant in Songkhla's Thepha district by state environmental experts on Aug 17 signifies the state's determination to get on with the controversial project.
The EHIA is due to be forwarded to the National Environment Board chaired by the prime minister, and it is almost certain he will give the green light for the 2,200-megawatt project despite fierce opposition from locals who fear the project will adversely affect their livelihoods and their peaceful community.
Last week, a group of Thepha villagers staged a sit-in protest in Bangkok against the project.
The state is pushing hard to get the Thepha project off the ground after its coal-fired power plant in Krabi hit a snag. Locals in Krabi province have put up stout resistance against the plant by forming themselves into an anti-coal network comprising local administration officials, academics and people in the business sector.
Krabi, a top tourist destination on the Andaman coast, has set itself the challenge of being solely dependent on renewable energy. The government has said it regards coal as filthy and as undermining tourism in the province.
Again, we are witnessing serious flaws in the state approval process. These environmental and health impact assessments, though good in principle, turn out to be just another rubber stamp for operators -- in this case, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) -- to obtain approval for their projects. This is because the report is based on dubious public hearings, which are repeatedly criticised by opponents as being nothing more than a superficial process. The use of flawed information in the report raises the question of the legitimacy of this process.
At the same time, Egat strongly asserts the need for a coal power plant in the South, saying it will guarantee power security in this region as the tourism sector's expansion places renewed demands on power. As always, the agency dismissed the possibility of renewables becoming a mainstream source of energy, saying it is not stable enough.
We don't know if the Egat has ever taken a look at studies conducted by advanced academic institutes that show how the potential of renewables, such as biogas, solar and wind power, can be harnessed. The strong push for coal, a fossil fuel blamed for global warming, suggests the agency does not pay serious attention to the environmental threat which comes in the form of harsh weather patterns.
And before the Egat pushes for another coal project, it owes the public an explanation for the disparity between the country's supply and demand of energy.
According to information on the Egat website, the peak load of power demand in May this year was recorded at 28,578 megawatts, lower than last year's peak demand of 29,619MW. As we see, this year's peak load is lower than the anticipated demand by 1,500MW-- that is a capacity of a sizeable power plant.
The country's total installed power capacity accounted for 41,903MW in July. To put it simply, we have 13,325MW of reserve power during peak times, or 46.6% of total peak demand. That is a significant rise from the reserve margin of 25-30% in previous years. A country needs only 15% of reserve power to maintain a stable power supply. Why Thailand has the luxury of possessing enormous power reserves is a question we should ask. Adding the Thepha coal-fired project will widen the margin further and burden taxpayers who are paying for energy that will end up unused. Before the Egat goes ahead with the coal project, it must explain this to the public -- loud and clear.