With supplies of natural gas expected to run out in the near future, Thailand has no choice but to set up nuclear power plants to sustain the country's energy supply for the next 20 years, the Energy Ministry's permanent-secretary Norkhun Sitthipong said yesterday.
Speaking at the "Escape from Nuclear Power Plant?" seminar organised by the House of Representative's Committee on Energy, Norkhun said Thailand would be running out of natural gas, the main fuel to produce electricity, in the next 20 years. If there is no replacement for natural gas, Thailand will face energy insecurity.
Power plants in Thailand use 70 per cent natural gas, 21 per cent coal, 5 per cent hydropower and 4 per cent of other resources. Of the natural gas used, 65 per cent is produced locally and 35 per cent imported from Burma.
The ministry expects to import 500,000 tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas and increase it to 10 million tonnes per year in the next five to six years to replace natural gas.
"In the long term, natural gas will run out and the price of electricity will rise, forcing consumers to shoulder the financial burden in the end," he said.
The plan to build nuclear power plants comes under the Power Development Plan (PDP) 2010-2030 endorsed by the National Energy Policy Committee.
The first five nuclear power plants with a combined capacity of 5,000 megawatts will be located in Ubon Ratchathani, Nakhon Sawan, Chumphon, Trat and Surat Thani.
According to reports from the House Committee on Energy, distributed during the seminar, nuclear power plants are a good alternative source of energy and have a lot of fuel reserves.
Nuclear power is also safe and eco-friendly because it does not emit greenhouse gases. It is also cheaper to produce.
"If the government goes ahead with the PDP to build nuclear power plants by next year, I am sure the first plant will be in operation in 10 years," he said.
Meanwhile, Winai Krawichai, a Trat native who has been fighting against the plan to set up nuclear power plants, said he was concerned about the operation of the plants and waste management.
He said most villagers were worried about accidents such as the leakage of radioactive waste, which would cause cancer and damage human DNA.
He added that if the government continued with its plan to build nuclear power plants, the villagers in Trat province would file a lawsuit against the state because it says clearly in the Constitution that local communities need to be consulted for the setting up of a state project.