Egat learns from M'sian experience in winning acceptance for coal-fired plants

Installing clean technology to operate the plant, giving a strong commitment in terms of managing the environmental impact and developing a good relationship with those living around the facility are the key factors for a coal-fired power plant to exist in harmony with the local community, said Shamsul Ahmad, managing director of Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s (TBN) Janan Manjung coal-fired plant.
He stressed these requirements to a group of Egat representatives and Thai media during their visit this week to learn how TBN – a major Malaysian energy provider – deals with the environmental impact caused by the Manjung plant, which is one of four main coal-fired power plants generating electricity in the country.
Currently, energy production in Malaysia is based on coal and natural gas, with about 45 per cent of electricity generation coming from coal.
The Janan Manjung plant, comprising four units on 2,000 rai (320 hectares) of reclaimed land in Perak state on the west coast of the Malaysian peninsula, generates and distributes 2,100MW of electrical power to the country’s grid.
The plant annually uses about 6 million tonnes of bituminous and sub-bituminous coal –mainly imported from Kalimantan in Indonesia, Newcastle in Australia, and South Africa – as fuel.
To reduce the environmental impact and air pollution from the facility, the plant operator has installed high technology to generate electricity.
This includes pulverised-fuel firing, which crushes and grinds coal to 75 microns for better combustion; fuel-gas desulphurisation, which allows seawater to absorb sulphur dioxide and then oxidise it into harmless sulphate; and an electrostatic precipitator, which is used to trap and collect dust and ash.
A 200-metre-high chimney has also been installed as an efficient means of dealing with exhaust gas.
Moreover, the plant operator complies with the fuel-gas emission limits designated by the World Bank, its managing director said.
There is also a continuous emission-monitoring system to measure smoke density and opacity, particulate and dust, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide, while the ambient air quality in a 3-5 kilometre radius around the power plant is monitored at three locations.
Meanwhile, the surplus fly ash and bottom ash discharged from the plant is stored in an ash pond for 25 years, after which it will be used by the cement industry.
However, when construction of the plant commenced in 1990, there was strong opposition from villagers living around the facility, as they were worried about the environmental and health impact of its operation.
Kamarudin Kassim, 61, a villager in Sri Manjung district, said that before construction had got under way, some in the local community did not agree with the plan to build a coal-fired power plant in their area.
Then, after officials visited the village and explained how local residents would benefit from the plant, as well as the country’s need for such a facility, they decided to withdraw their opposition, he said.
Moreover, to exist in harmony with the local community, the plant operator has provided assistance to residents – and especially fishermen – in the area surrounding the plant.

Dialogue crucial
“We must have a dialogue with the community and explain to them about the measures we are taking to reduce the impact from the plant. We also have to take on board any complaints raised by the community and help them to resolve their problems. This is the most important thing,” said Ahmad.
Here in the Kingdom, Egat plans to build a 700MW coal-fired power plant in Krabi that will be fuelled by bituminous and sub-bituminous coal, which is expected to be imported from Indonesia, Australia and Africa.
Construction of the Bt30-billion facility is scheduled to be completed in 2019.
Egat is now conducting an environmental and health-impact assessment of the project. This is expected to be completed soon.
“In the end, I believe Egat and the government will build this plant, as we don’t want to see blackouts in the southern region,” said Rangsan Athamanolap, Egat’s assistant governor for corporate social affairs.