Despite the various headwinds, Thailand is planning to build even more gas capacity.
A third LNG import terminal with a capacity of up to 10.8 million tonnes/year is in development at Map Ta Phut. A long contested 1,400 MW gas plant and associated terminal has also been slated in Surat Thani in southern Thailand.
In Chachoengsao province, east of Bangkok and part of the EEC, pre-construction work appeared underway at the proposed site of the 540 MW Burapha Power Plant.
Originally meant to be a coal plant and after more than 15 years of delays and disputes, it was finally approved in October last year.
For nearby communities, it was yet another blow to the environment, in an already heavily industrialised zone, for a facility they say the country does not need.
Gunn Tattiyakul, a local resident and environmental activist, has watched pollution problems appear over the years. He said he has seen the groundwater turn salty and the province’s famous mango crops increasingly fail.
“I was born and raised here, and I’ve lived my whole life in this place. I’ve seen how the natural resources, once abundant, are now deteriorating,” he said.
Thailand has built significantly more electricity capacity than it needs, the result of overestimated demand, long-term contracts and a system built around gas, energy analysts said.
Reserve margins have ranged from around 25 per cent to over 40 per cent, well above the 15 to 20 per cent typically required to ensure supply.
Meanwhile, residents in the EEC watch on as more capacity gets built out.
“People in Bangkok may think electricity is necessary, and we do not deny that,” said Artorn Panyapateep, an abbott and community leader in the village of Laem Khao Chan in Chachoengsao.
“But we want them to understand the people living around the plants, who suffer from dust, smell, noise and wastewater,” he said. “That is what we want them to care about.”
Additional reporting by Jarupat Karunyaprasit
