MINISTRY SEEKS OPTIONS AS GAS RESERVES SHRINK

       Energy Minister Wannarat Charnnukul headed a delegation to Hong Kong and Shenzhen to review possible tie-ups in clean coal and nuclear power firms "to obtain the best options for our future energy needs" at the weekend.
       "Thailand will face a shortage of natural gas in 15-20 years as local fields are being exhausted. This poses great concern as the country depends on gas to generate 70 per cent of electricity needs."
       Wannarata says coal-fired plants provide 20 per cent while hydro, biogas, bomas and solar sources make up the rest. "Even with the push toward solar and wind farms, there will still be a considerable shortfall," he says.
       There is urgency in examining the options as negotiations, construction as well as public relations exercises to gain public support will take considerable time, he says. "At present many global energy firms are in talks with the ministry."
       The construction of a nuclear power plant take about five years before it becomes operational. While Thailand has about 200 nuclear technicians, it will need more if the nuclear option is exercised. "Indonesia and Vietnam have opted to go nuclear," says Wannarat. "But the Philippines and Malaysia have not."
       The minister admits that nuclear remain a highly sensitive issue and it required the support of local communities if it is to succeed.
       "It cannot be achieved without the acceptance of the public," he told reporters in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.
       The government is keen to avoid a repeat of the 1986 tantalum plant fiasco in Phuket where a US$25-million (Bt840 million) facility was burnt to the ground when authorities ignored objections from angry villagers.
       Violent clashes also often erupt at several botched attempts by authorities to impose power plants on provincial communities.
       Deputy director-general of policy and planning Chavalit Pichalai concurs with Wannarat, saying "any nuclear proposal must be made trans-parent publicly if we hope to inspire confidence".
       At Daya Bay, the largest nuclear facility in China's Guangdong province that powers much of the needs of Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories, executives at the enterprise took Wannarat on a thorough tour, which includes seeing the insides of a new nuclear plant.
       China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding's vice chairnman chang Shanming showed the operations and training centres at the massive complex was among the world's "most modern, safest and efficient".
       When the plant was conceived in 1984, one million people in Hong Kong - then under British rule - protested, one executive notes.
       "Since it began operation 10 years ago, no big accident has taken place," says Jimmy Wang, general manager of China Nuclear Power Engineering. Wang who is a key member of the team was a 34-year veteran at Bechtel, the US giant that runs most of America's commercial nuclear plants.
       The facility has also earned several awards. At its entrance, tree-lined apartments for 15,000 workers with landscaped parks projects an orderly run industrial estate. The radiation levels at he plant is actually lower than those outside, says Wang.
       Wannarat says nuclear is a possible option as it does not emit carbod dioxide. But nuclear waste requires under-ground burial as it takes several hundred thousand years to decay.
       CLP Power, the Hong Kong-based supplier of electricity, owns 25-per-cent of Daya Bay and buys most of its power. Its Thailand chief Peck Khamkanist says the Chinese group is keen to invest in Thailand.
       Peck says CLP, which is already heavily invested in the Kingdom, also wants the ministry to consider using clean-coal. Atits facility at Black Point, CLP executives and the ministry's Dr Twarath Sutabutr, director of policy and strategy at the permanent secretary's office, show how lignite plants can be run more responsibly.
       CLP waters its coal supply three hours daily to prevent dust from spewing outside. It ranks safety and corporate social responsibility as key strategies. Exxon is its key partner at the coal-fired plant.
       The plant generates power for 2.2 million households, says CLP director general David Crighton.
       The company is one of Hong Kong's most respected and oldest names. Its flagship properties include the Peninsula Hotel.
       Dr Twarath says solar is becoming an important option as falling costs makes it an attractive choice.
       A local delegate observes: "No one minds if you build a solar farm next door. But nobody wants a nuclear plant nearby."
       A recent IAEA survey says while the technology is safe, opponents are more fearful some companies and governments lack the integrity to maintain sound standards.