Bangkok Post – Egat aims to extend the life of two lignite units

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) plans to extend the life of two lignite-fired power plants for a period of time before shutting down all power plants in Lampang to promote clean energy.

The two plants, Units 8 and 9, are among the eight power generation units still in operation in Lampang, with a total generation capacity of 2,220 megawatts.

Units 8 and 9 need to be upgraded or replaced as they approach the decommissioning phase.

Egat has a total of 14 units in Mae Mo District, Lampang Province. The authority has already shut down blocks 1 to 7.

Egat said it has not yet decided whether to hire experts to improve and increase the efficiency of Units 8 and 9 or whether it plans to carry out this task itself.

“The number of years by which the life of the units will be extended has not been disclosed,” said an Energy Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The decision to extend the life of Units 8 and 9, which have a total generation capacity of 660 MW, was made because Egat wants to maintain the stability of electricity supply in the northern, northeastern and upper central regions.

As governments and companies push for a shift toward renewable energy development, it has become more difficult to obtain loans to modernize fossil-fuel power plants or to find suppliers of spare parts for such plants, the official said.

Egat had previously submitted bids for a project to replace the aging machinery in Blocks 8 and 9 at a cost of 35 billion baht. Only one company bid at the auction, prompting Egat to initiate another bidding process, which failed to attract any bidders.

“Egat plans to phase out all of its power plants in Mae Mo by 2050, in line with the government’s commitment to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” the official said.

Thailand announced in 2021 that it would take stronger measures to achieve carbon neutrality, a balance between carbon dioxide emissions and absorption, by 2050. The decommissioning plan may be adjusted if carbon capture and storage technology can be demonstrated to be compatible with commercial operations of lignite-fired power plants, the official said.