Bangkok, Thailand - As the Thai economy continues its steady growth, policymakers are drafting energy strategies with a view toward keeping the lights on for the next 15 years. To do that, planners say, Thailand must nearly double its electricity production to about 55,000 megawatts each year.
But as Thailand is learning and Malaysia has already discovered, coal could be the key to energy security in the coming decades. To secure supply in a cost-effective way that won't hold the country hostage to gas imports from regimes like neighboring Myanmar or Iran, analysts say the most viable option is coal – a fuel source hated by environmentalists who see it as the main driver of global warming.
"As much as I don't like coal, due to the carbon emissions, I'm equally worried about the need for Thailand to diversify fuel sources," says Mark Hutchinson, an independent regional energy analyst. "And there's really nothing other than coal."
A power plant fueled by natural gas has the added benefit of, on average, producing about half as much carbon dioxide, a third as much nitrogen oxides, and 1 percent as much sulfur oxides as a coal-fired plant. Of the 22,684 megawatts Thailand uses each year, nearly 70 percent comes from gas and about 15 percent from coal. While the reliance on gas is already considered high, Thai Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand has warned that 90 percent of Thailand's power could come from gas if the country does not embrace either coal or nuclear energy.
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http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0405/p05s01-woap.html
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