Bangkok Post:
Regulator prepares for nuclear energy
Reactor project being scrutinised
PUBLISHED : 15 Nov 2024 at 05:43
WRITER: Yuthana Praiwan
The ongoing development of a small modular reactor within a new power generation facility in Hainan, China.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will start looking into the legal aspects of a small modular reactor project this month to prepare Thailand for using nuclear energy as observers voice concerns over a decline in domestic gas supply and uncertainty surrounding Thai-Cambodian talks on joint petroleum production in the overlapping claims area (OCA).
The OCA, referring to an area between the two countries in the Gulf of Thailand, has the potential to be developed into a new gas field, but the project has drawn fierce opposition amid concerns that the negotiations, based on a 2001 memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, will put Thailand at risk of losing sovereignty over Koh Kut, an island it currently administers as part of Koh Kut district in Trat province.
As the supply of natural gas, used as a major fuel for power generation in Thailand, is decreasing, the country is not only required to find new fuels but is also committed to using more clean energy, as stated in the 2024 power development plan.
The ERC expects to sign an MoU with the Office for Atoms for Peace to jointly study regulations needed for the country to push ahead with the nuclear project, said Poonpat Leesombatpiboon, secretary-general of the ERC.
A small modular reactor (SMR) is a form of nuclear power technology with a capacity of up to 300 megawatts per unit, about one-third of the generating capacity of larger, traditional nuclear power reactors, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Under the 2024 power development plan, which will be enforced from 2024 to 2037, two SMRs, each with a capacity of 300MW, will be developed and commence operations towards the end of the plan, an official who requested anonymity was quoted as saying earlier.
SMRs are expected to be developed and operated by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat).
Speaking during a visit to Hainan in China to gather first-hand information at a 125-MW SMR project based on the island, Egat governor Thapparat Theppitak said he believes SMRs will be a "game changer" in the global power industry.
The development cost of a SMR is currently 2-3 times more expensive than combined-cycle power plants, but the costs would tend to get cheaper in the future, he said.
Combined-cycle power plants use both gas and steam turbines to produce electricity.
An SMR has a service life of 60 years, compared with a gas or coal-fired power plant which can supply electricity for a period of only 25 years, he added.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will start looking into the legal aspects of a small modular reactor project this month to prepare Thailand for using nuclear energy as observers voice concerns over a decline in domestic gas supply and uncertainty surrounding Thai-Cambodian talks on joint petroleum production in the overlapping claims area (OCA).
The OCA, referring to an area between the two countries in the Gulf of Thailand, has the potential to be developed into a new gas field, but the project has drawn fierce opposition amid concerns that the negotiations, based on a 2001 memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, will put Thailand at risk of losing sovereignty over Koh Kut, an island it currently administers as part of Koh Kut district in Trat province.
As the supply of natural gas, used as a major fuel for power generation in Thailand, is decreasing, the country is not only required to find new fuels but is also committed to using more clean energy, as stated in the 2024 power development plan.
The ERC expects to sign an MoU with the Office for Atoms for Peace to jointly study regulations needed for the country to push ahead with the nuclear project, said Poonpat Leesombatpiboon, secretary-general of the ERC.
A small modular reactor (SMR) is a form of nuclear power technology with a capacity of up to 300 megawatts per unit, about one-third of the generating capacity of larger, traditional nuclear power reactors, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Under the 2024 power development plan, which will be enforced from 2024 to 2037, two SMRs, each with a capacity of 300MW, will be developed and commence operations towards the end of the plan, an official who requested anonymity was quoted as saying earlier.
SMRs are expected to be developed and operated by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat).
Speaking during a visit to Hainan in China to gather first-hand information at a 125-MW SMR project based on the island, Egat governor Thapparat Theppitak said he believes SMRs will be a "game changer" in the global power industry.
The development cost of a SMR is currently 2-3 times more expensive than combined-cycle power plants, but the costs would tend to get cheaper in the future, he said.
Combined-cycle power plants use both gas and steam turbines to produce electricity.
An SMR has a service life of 60 years, compared with a gas or coal-fired power plant which can supply electricity for a period of only 25 years, he added.
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My experience with equipment from China, even in the year 2024, is they are OK where cost effectiveness is paramount, but not applications where "Failure is Not an Option".
ReplyDeleteThe Malaysian Government Health Ministry found that out with Covid era orders for tens of millions of Ringgit worth of China ventilators that Malaysian Government hospitals were forced to scrap due to unreliability.
Failure is Not an Option if its your mother or your son on the ventilator.
I'm surprised Thailand is choosing China technology for its nuclear project.
Failure is Not an Option with Nuclear power.