Kao Hin Son power station

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Kao Hin Son power station, also known as the Chachoengsao power station, is a proposed 600-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station planned for Phanom Sarakham, Thailand.

Location

The map below shows the location of Phanom Sarakham, the approximate location where the plant will be built.

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Background on Plant

In 2007, Advance Agro (AA) (now Double A Power) won an auction to build a 600 MW coal-fired power plant in the Khao Hin Son Sub-District, Phanom Sarakham District. After the license was granted, a new constitution was approved in 2007 with a law mandating environmental and health impact assessments (EHIAs) be conducted before operations could begin.

Local villagers expressed various concerns and held protests and eventually petitioned the King, citing health concerns over the power station. In October 2013 project sponsor NPS again did not get needed approval documents for the station.

According to the Thailand Power Development Plan for 2012-2030, and 2015-2025, Units 1 and 2 will begin operating in November 2016, and Units 3 and 4 will begin operating in March 2017.

In January 2016 the environmental and health impact assessment (EHIA) for the project was rejected by the Thailand Environmental Expert Commission. It was the third time the EHIA was submitted. The sponsor was listed as Double A Company.

In April 2017 EGAT said a new 1,300MW gas-fired plant "will be installed in the same 8-hectare site of the terminated Kao Hin Son coal plant in Chachoengsao province". The new Bang Pakong Power Plant is scheduled to go into commercial operation in April 2019, and use both domestic and imported gas.

However, the Thailand Power Development Plan for 2018-2037 again includes plans for the Kao Hin Son coal plant, along with two "replacement" coal units at the Mae Moh power station. It is planned for commissioning sometime between 2026 and 2037. The Plan was approved in January 2019.

In July 2019, it was reported the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) was speeding up the process for the long-delayed coal plant under the direction of newly appointed Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong. The plant would be built by National Power Supply, owned by Double A Power, the same company granted an operating license for the plant in 2007. NPS also asked the Energy Ministry to consider the possibility of shifting the fuel for power generation from coal to natural gas.

On July 12, 2019, an entity known as the Burapa Power Project entered into the Power Purchase Agreement with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand for 25 years. Burapa Power Project is planned to be a 540 MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant located in Khao Hin Son subdistrict, Phanom Sarakham district, Chachoengsao province. As of January 2020, the project was in the process of preparing the Environmental Impact Assessment and is expected to commence commercial operation in 2027.

Based on a public hearing held for a power project in Khao Hin Son subdistrict in August 2020, it appears plans for the 600 MW coal plant have been replaced with plans for the 540 MW Burpa gas plant.

Project Details

• Sponsor: Double A Power
• Location: Khao Hin Son subdistrict, Phanom Sarakham, Chachoengsao Province
• Coordinates:  13.744722, 101.347222 (approximate)
• Status: Shelved
• Gross Capacity: 600 MW (Units 1-4: 150 MW)
• Type:  Subcritical
• Projected in service:
• Coal Type:
• Coal Source:  
• Source of financing:

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