Thai junta leader has used his absolute power to scrap regulations on the construction of power plants and factories in a bid to secure energy needs and woo investors.
Tag: power
The power struggle at Salween River
The Salween River meanders through pristine mountain forests before reaching a camp for internally displaced people at Ei Htu Hta, near the Thai-Myanmar border. Temporary bamboo shelters dot the hills around the camp, with small solar panels attached to the thatched roofs providing power for a few hours a day. There is no government electricity supply to the camp and many of the people displaced by the fighting between the Burma Army (BA) and ethnic armed forces believe there never will be, despite seven dam projects proposed for the Salween. They also believe that the recent outbreaks of fighting between the BA and Karen forces are part of a master plan to ensure the dam projects, many of which will supply cheap energy to Thailand, go ahead.
Toyo-Thai Pursues Myanmar Coal Plant
In April, Thailand-based Toyo-Thai Corporation PCL signed a memorandum of agreement with the Myanmar’s Ministry of Electricity to construct a 1,280 megawatt coal-fired power plant near the coastal village of Inn Din in Mon State. One month later 5,000 people staged a protest near the seaside Inn Din project site in Ye Township. Public opposition has been mounting since the project was first announced last year.
Thailand Imports First Coal Power From Laos
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) just began importing electricity from the newly completed Hongsa coal-fired power plant, just 30km into Laos. Adjacent mines feed the thermal plant with lignite, the dirtiest type of coal.
Thai military forbids youth camp in Loei ore mine area
The Thai military in Isan, Thailand Northeast, prevented an environmental youth camp in an area with an ongoing mine conflict in Loei Province from taking place, saying that the event might affect national security.
Thailand’s power dilemma amid a climate of fear
In its push for coal-fired mega-projects, the Thai government risks turning its back on sufficiency-economy thinking and the need for ‘clean’ energy.