Nuclear power in Thailand
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Thailand has no
nuclear power stations A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces elec ...
. The Thai Energy Ministry periodically considers plans for nuclear power.


Power demand

In 2011, Pricha Karasuddhi, technical adviser for the Nuclear Power Programme Development Office stated that power demand will double in the next 12 years. According to him, if the government goes for nuclear power, it must make a decision to do so now to pave the way for preparation. It is crucial to put this on the national agenda, again, according to him, to draw participation from all parties involved and debate the merits of Thai nuclear energy. According to the
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) ( th, การไฟฟ้าฝ่ายผลิตแห่งประเทศไทย; ) is a state enterprise, managed by the Ministry of Energy, responsible for electric power ge ...
, daily demand for electricity hit 10 new peaks last year. The latest was registered on 10 May 2010 at 24,009 MW, higher than the record of 22,044 MW on 24 April 2009 - due to higher temperatures and economic recovery. EGAT is worried about power blackouts or brownouts in the next 10 years when demand rises against a limited increase in new supply. Nuclear power is expected to reduce Thailand's natural gas consumption in power generation from 70 percent to 40 percent. Figures from 2007 reveal that Thailand used natural gas to generate electricity more than any energy source at 66.2 percent, followed by lignite at 12.6 percent. Hydro power accounted for 5.5 percent, bunker oil 2.7 percent, diesel 0.03 percent and renewable energy 1.6 percent. Imported coal accounted for 8.4 percent, while purchased electricity from Laos and Malaysia was at three percent. Others suggest that power demand can adequately be supplied by cheaper and safer eco-energies.


Fukushima 1 response

Following the
Fukushima nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...
, on 14 March 2011, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ordered the Energy Ministry to review its plan to establish five nuclear power plants. The ministry has been instructed to study two issues in detail: * Emergency measures and nuclear plants * Potential as terrorist targets Concern is mounting given the problems in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, if Thailand is to adopt the Japanese model. As of 2012, the Thai Energy Ministry is drafting a plan that could see a nuclear facility go into operation in 2026.


Protests

On 3 November 2009 anti-nuclear plant protesters in the Tha Chana District of Surat Thani Province dispersed, but demanded the electricity authority carry out a public hearing before proceeding with the construction plan. More than 500 protesters trespassed into a meeting room of the Tha Chana District office in Surat Thani Province while representatives from the
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) ( th, การไฟฟ้าฝ่ายผลิตแห่งประเทศไทย; ) is a state enterprise, managed by the Ministry of Energy, responsible for electric power ge ...
(EGAT) were giving a presentation about a site survey for a nuclear power plant in the area. On 15 March 2011 about 2,000 people from 18 districts of
Kalasin Province Kalasin ( th, กาฬสินธุ์, ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), located in upper northeastern Thailand, also called Isan. The province was established by the Act Establishing Changwat Kalasin, BE 2490 (194 ...
rallied outside the city hall to protest against the EGAT plan to build a nuclear plant in their province. Banners were raised to denounce some MPs in the province for having asked EGAT to build a nuclear plant in the province and claiming that it was the wish of the people. MPs claimed the people agreed to having the nuclear plant at public hearings which in fact had never been held, they said. The protesters said groundwork for the construction of a nuclear plant had been underway near Non Somboon village in tambon Hua Hin of Kalasin's Huay Mek District. The construction site is less than 10 km from the Lam Pao River, the lifeline of Kalasin. On 26 March 2011, a poll conducted by Assumption University reported that more than 80 percent of the respondents (83.4 percent) disagreed with the plan to construct nuclear power plants in Thailand. The poll involved 3,807 peopled aged 18 up in 17 provinces, was conducted from 1-25 March 2011.
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
residents had the largest percentage of the objection of 95.2 percent followed by those in the southern region (91.5 percent), central (91.1 percent), north (90.0 percent), and northeast (85.8 percent). The poll was conducted during the Fukushima I nuclear accidents in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/228728/poll-people-against-nuclear-plant Poll: People against nuclear plant


See also

*
Energy in Thailand Energy in Thailand refers to the production, storage, import and export, and use of energy in the Southeast Asian nation of Thailand. Thailand's energy resources are modest and being depleted. The nation imports most of its oil and significant qu ...
*
Nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...


References

{{Nuclear power by country * Energy in Thailand Science and technology in Thailand
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...