IS THAILAND HEADING FOR A NUCLEAR FUTURE?

       The demand for electricity keeps rising,but consumer savings and domestic solar power generation may help considerably By Nina Suebsukcharoen
       While Thailand is pushing ahead with plans to build two nuclear power plants, energy policymakers are not overlooking other choices,including solar power, and are encouraging consumers to embrace conservation, says Direk Lavansiri, chairman of the Energy Regulatory Commission.
       It could take up to 10 years before work starts on the nuclear plants, assuming they win government approval and are accepted by a sceptical public.
       A government organisation has already been set up to study the safety issues and acceptance of this form of energy generation,as well as where the two nuclear plants should be located.
       "In a year's time they will decide whether to build them or not, but according to the plan, two will be built with 1,000 megawatts each. In 10 years we will build them," said Mr Direk.
       Many parts of the country have been considered as suitable sites for the nuclear plants,but he stressed the government had to focus on safety issues.
       The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) would be in charge of producing nuclear energy for this country because it has the skills to do so.
       Now Thailand's power generating capacity is 30,000 megawatts, but according to the long-term power development plan (PDP),this will increased to between 50,000 and 54,000 megawatt in 15 years' time.
       A breakdown of power generation shows that 70% is obtained from natural gas, about 15% from lignite, while hydropower amounts to 7-8%. The country buys 10% of its energy requirements from Laos which has suitable geographical conditions to generate hydroelectric power, and a small amount from Malaysia.
       "In 15 years' time the natural gas portion will decrease and there may be some nuclear power - this is according to the plan - and lignite will increase," said Mr Direk.
       Several countries already meet 20-30% of their energy needs through nuclear power,notably Japan. South Korea too is generating a large amount of nuclear energy, as is China.
       France generates the most nuclear energy,with as much as 70% of its needs being met through nuclear plants. The UK generates about 10-20% of its power from nuclear plants because it is able to buy a substantial amount from France.
       "The US too is partly nuclear but a lot of it is through lignite - much more energy is generated through lignite but it does have some nuclear," he said.
       "At one time people were afraid - for example they were going to build a nuclear plant on the US west coast but it had to be scrapped [due to public pressure]. Today the US east coast has a lot of projects around seven or eight."
       Mr Direk explained that nuclear energy is now seen to be far cleaner because it does not cause greenhouse gas as fossil fuels do.The fear is over the disposal of nuclear waste,but this too has now advanced, and today it is possible to reprocess spent nuclear fuel in a way that allows plutonium to be reused for nuclear fuel but not for nuclear weapons.
       However, in the end radioactive waste has to be disposed off, and the way it is being done in other countries is to carefully bury it deep in the ground.
       "Previously, activists didn't agree with it [nuclear power] but now they do because it doesn't cause greenhouse effect. Many groups agree with it because it's cleaner and doesn't release carbon dioxide."
       In fact, environmentalists are more concerned about the use of lignite to generate power than nuclear. Their concern about lignite even outweighs the heavy use of petroleum today, he added.
       Thailand is not only focusing on nuclear energy for its future needs but also other renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind. Where wind power is concerned Mr Direk mentioned that Denmark is a shining example because it generates so much energy this way that it is able to export some to neighbouring countries.
       It would be possible for Thailand to generate some wind power in future because some parts of the country are extremely windy,including Lop Buri and some areas in the South.
       While the bigger issues of power generation are very important, Mr Direk revealed that the authorities have not forgotten how much energy could be saved at the individual level.With this in mind both the metropolitan and provincial electricity authorities are now willing to buy solar energy from houses that generate it through the installation of solar panels on the roof.
       Householders can now contact both metropolitan and provincial electricity authorities to install a separate meter to sell the solar energy they generate at eight baht a unit,while buying power at a little more than three baht a unit, thus making a profit of five baht a unit.
       "You have to consider whether this is worthwhile, you have to consider whether getting eight baht [a unit] will cover the cost of the solar cells, which will be recovered in seven years. After that, from the eighth or ninth year on, they won't cost you anything so you could then use solar energy at home and not pay three baht a unit - it's free."
       Mr Direk added that the lifespan of solar cells is about 10-20 years and some countries,with Germany at the forefront, are heavily encouraging their use.
       "It started in Thailand a long time ago,but the regulations have just been changed to allow people to sell directly. So sell at eight baht and buy at three baht - that's a profit of five baht."
       Mr Direk added that in these difficult times people could cut their electricity bills if they used less electricity during the peak period from 9am to 10pm. One way would be to run washing machines after 10pm or at weekends.
       "Saving energy is government policy, and it would help decrease the amount of investment the government would have to make.It has to invest, but power consumption only climbs during the peak period when demand is high. Other times they can't sell anything - investing a lot to sell a little is not worthwhile."
       While it is now well known that energysaving bulbs do cut costs, what the majority do not know is that fluorescent tubes can do so too if fitted with electronic ballast. This is able to cut fluorescent power consumption by half - the big fluorescent tubes consume 40 watts, while smaller ones consume 36 watts, and this could come down to 18 watts.
       Mr Direk advised people to check this point when buying fluorescent tubes and although those fitted with electronic ballast are expensive, their cost-saving feature does pay for itself within a year.