Mae Moh power station

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Mae Moh power station (โรงไฟฟ้าแม่เมาะ) is an operating power station of at least 2605-megawatts (MW) in Mae Moh, Lampang, Thailand with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Mae Moh Thermal Power Plant Project, MMRP1 (Units 4-7 replacement), MMRP2; Mae Moh Thermal Power Plant Project (Units 8-9 replacement), Unit 15 (Units 8-9 replacement).

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Mae Moh power station	Mae Moh, Mae Moh, Lampang, Thailand	18.296, 99.752 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• Unit 1, Unit 10, Unit 11, Unit 12, Unit 13, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5, Unit 6, Unit 7, Unit 8, Unit 9, Units 4-7 replacement, Units 8-9 replacement: 18.296, 99.752

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	retired	coal - lignite	75	subcritical	1978	2000
Unit 10	operating	coal - lignite	300	subcritical	1991	2025 (planned)
Unit 11	operating	coal - lignite	300	subcritical	1991	2025 (planned)
Unit 12	operating	coal - lignite, bioenergy - wood & other biomass (solids)	300	subcritical	1995	2026 (planned)
Unit 13	operating	coal - lignite, bioenergy - wood & other biomass (solids)	300	subcritical	1995	2026 (planned)
Unit 2	retired	coal - lignite	75	subcritical	1979	2000
Unit 3	retired	coal - lignite	75	subcritical	1981	2000
Unit 4	operating	coal - lignite	150	subcritical	1984	2025 (planned)
Unit 5	retired	coal - lignite	150	subcritical	1984	2019
Unit 6	retired	coal - lignite	150	subcritical	1985	2019
Unit 7	retired	coal - lignite	150	subcritical	1985	2019
Unit 8	operating	coal - lignite	300	subcritical	1990	2025 (planned)
Unit 9	operating	coal - lignite	300	subcritical	1990	2025 (planned)
Units 4-7 replacement	operating	coal - lignite	655	ultra-supercritical	2019	–
Units 8-9 replacement	permitted	coal - lignite	600	ultra-supercritical	2026	–

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner
Unit 1	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Unit 10	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Unit 11	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Unit 12	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Unit 13	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Unit 2	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Unit 3	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Unit 4	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Unit 5	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Unit 6	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Unit 7	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Unit 8	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Unit 9	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Units 4-7 replacement	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]
Units 8-9 replacement	Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

• Coal source(s): Mae Moh basin, Mae Moh mine

Background

In 1953, lignite coal was found at Mae Moh basin, leading to construction of the Mae Moh lignite power plant. Three 75 MW generators were installed from 1978 to 1981, Units 4-7 (150 MW each) were constructed in 1984 and 1985, and Units 8-13 (300 MW each) were built from 1989 to 1995, for a total of 13 generators (2,625 MW). The Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (Egat) has a license to operate a coal mine in the province to supply fuel to the power plant.

The plant is fueled by the Mae Moh coal mine, an open pit lignite mine which produces 40,000 tons per day. With an area of 135 square kilometers, it is considered the largest coal-fired power plant in Southeast Asia.

On its website the Italian-Thai Development, a major Thai construction company, stated that it worked on Units 8-13 between 1986 and 1992. The website lists its role as relating to the "fabrication and delivery of steel work for gas and air ducts of the boiler buildings, turbine buildings and cooling water system."

Units 12 and 13 were co-firing biomass as part of an "experimental project" to evaluate alternative fuels.

The Mae Moh Mine supplied 13.659 million tons of coal to the power station in 2022.

A replacement unit for Units 4-7 began operating in August 2019, as detailed below. A replacement for Units 8-9 was permitted in May 2022, as detailed below.

As of March 2024, a plan to pursue carbon capture and storage at Mae Moh power station was reportedly in development.

Retirements

Generating Units 1 and 2 were retired on March 1, 2000, while Unit 3 was taken out of service in 1999.

In 2019, The Nation Thailand reported that Units 8-9 would retire in 2025, and that Units 10-13 would retire after 2025 as it was estimated that the related coal mine's supply wouldn't be sufficient to feed them.

The Thailand Power Development Plan for 2018-2037, as revised in 2020, appeared to list Unit 8 for discharge in 2022, Units 9-11 for discharge in 2025, the additional replacement unit for Units 8-9 for completion in 2026, and Units 12-13 for discharge in 2026.

In December 2022, the 150 MW Unit 4 was brought back online "to help reduce the burden as a result of rising fuel prices in the world market" (Google translate). The decision was requested by Egat and approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission. The Unit would operate from December 2022 to December 2025.

Replacement units

Units 4-7

Units 4 through 7 (150 MW each) of the power station were replaced in 2019. As of 2014, Team Consulting Engineering and Management Co., Ltd. was working on the environmental and health impact assessment of the 600 MW coal project.

In March 2015, Alstom and Marubeni Corporation were contracted to provide a 600 MW ultra-supercritical unit at a cost of US$1 billion.

The National Council for Peace and Order approved the Mae Moh Power Plant Units 4-7 Replacement Project on August 19, 2014, and the National Environment Board approved the EHIA Report on December 17, 2014. According to EGAT, construction began on replacement Units 4-7 in April 2015. The unit was planned to be ultra-supercritical. Alstom and Marubeni were the contractors. The commercial operation date was expected in November 2018.

The Thailand Power Development Plan for 2015-2036 forecast that the Units 4-7 replacement would be operational in 2018.

The country's draft Power Development Plan for 2018-2037 still listed the Unit 4-7 replacement as planned for commissioning in 2018. However, in April 2019, Egat said it was testing the operation of the Mae Moh Power Plant Units 4-7 Replacement Project, with operation planned for 2019. The unit was described as 655 MW.

The Units 4-7 replacement began operating in August 2019.

Units 8-9

The Thailand Power Development Plan for 2015-2036 noted an additional replacement for Unit 8-9 was planned for completion in 2022.

The Units 8-9 replacement was also proposed to be 655 MW. It appeared listed in the Thailand Power Development Plan for 2018-2037 as planned for commissioning in 2026. The plan (PDP2018) was approved by the National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) on January 24, 2019 and by the Cabinet on April 30, 2019. In March 2020, the NEPC approved a revision of Thailand's PDP2018 (PDP2018 Rev.1), among other plans.

In July 2019, over 3,000 Mae Moh residents and interest public members participated in the first public hearing for the Units 8-9 Replacement Project.

In August 2020, it was reported that the country was facing excess power capacity due to decreasing demand from the covid pandemic. As a result, Ratch chief executive Kijja Sripatthangkura said Egat should delay development of the Units 8-9 replacement at Mae Moh.

Units 8 and 9 have been running on standby mode, and the two power generators related to the units are expected to be decommissioned in 2022.

The Thailand Power Development Plan for 2018-2037, as revised in 2020, noted the additional replacement for Unit 8-9 was planned for completion in 2026. It also appeared to list Unit 8 for discharge in 2022 (at page 2.1-1) and unit 9 for discharge in 2025 (at P 2.1-2).

As of May 2021, the Units 8-9 replacement's Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) appeared to have been at least partially approved by the National Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and National Environment Board (SEC). Another hearing was to be held in mid-2021 by the ERC before adding any additional comments to the report.

The Environmental Impact Assessment Report appeared to be considered at the September 15, 2021 environmental board meeting. EGAT revealed that the meeting "resolved to approve the impact assessment report" for a 600 MW project (Google Translate).

According to Enerdata, the National Environment Board of Thailand did approve a 600 MW replacement project, which was expected to start operation in 2026.

However, in October 2021, Energy News Center reported that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) appointed a committee to consider stakeholder opinions and prepare a summary report for submission to the Cabinet for approval by December 2021 (Google Translate).

In March 2022, the Cabinet appeared to "acknowledge" (presumably approve) the National Environment Board's resolution from September 2021. In Thailand, Cabinet approval is the final permitting step, so the project is presumed permitted.

In May 2022, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed that the replacement project had been permitted. The replacement project was expected to come online by 2026.

In December 2022, EGAT announced that they were pursuing a feasibility study to convert Unit 8 to be biomass-fired. Should the project be approved, 1.3 million tons of biomass would be purchased from neighboring communities per year. The Mae Moh team had a meeting with Drax power station officials, the largest biomass-fired power station in the United Kingdom.

In May 2023, EGAT listed the "Mae Moh Power Plant Units 8-9 Replacement Project" on their current year's procurement plan with 2023 as the planned "budget year of disbursement", along with plans to construct underground transmission lines as part of the Units 8-9 replacement project (Google Translate) .

In June 2023, the "Mae Moh Power Plant Units 8-9 Replacement Project" was reportedly under revision, with disbursement still planned for 2023, according to the EGAT procurement plan.. The 2022 Annual Report, released in June 2023, stated that the replacement plant (also referred to as the "Mae Moh Thermal Power Plant Project, Unit 15") was still planned for commercial operation in 2026.

In August 2023, the Mae Moh Power Plant Replacement Project (Units 8-9) was included on a Thailand National Economic and Social Development Council "Top 10 important investment projects of 2023" list.

As of January 2024, EGAT's Procurement Department website listed an announcement of hiring for the construction of transmission lines for the Mae Moh power station Units 8-9 replacement project. The expected procurement period was listed as July 2024.

In February 2024, alternative plans may have been in discussion in anticipation of Thailand's energy transition.

Financing

Units 4-7 and Older Units: Asian Development Bank (ADB) extended financing to the plant in 1998 and 1999 as part of its overall loans to the electricity sector. According to one source, as of 2003, ADB approved a series of loans to the plant amounting to more than US$352 million for the past twenty years.

Units 8-9: In 2019, Egat was budgeting 37 billion baht (US$1.1 billion) for development cost for the Units 8-9 replacement project.

EGAT's 2023 procurement plan estimated the replacement of Units 8-9 to cost 44,526,620,000 baht, with an additional 302,600,000 baht budgeted for "Supply and Construction of Underground Transmission Lines 230 kV Mae Moh Power Plant Units 8-9" (Google Translate).

Solar farm proposal at Mae Moh: Bidding to begin June 2023

In May 2023, it was reported that a solar farm project had been proposed for the existing Mae Moh power station and mine complex. According to Egat reports, the solar project was intended to "help reduce electricity consumption of Mae Moh Power Plant during the day" (Google Translate).

Environmental and Social Impacts

According to Greenpeace, the Mae Moh power plant approximately contributes more than four million tons of carbon dioxide emission in the atmosphere annually. In addition, around 1.6 million tons of sulfur gas is released from the power plant into the air every day. Greenpeace also said that from the time of the implementation of the Mae Moh coal power plant, more than 30,000 people have been displaced and thousands acquired severe respiratory problems due to the inhalation and exposure to sulfur dioxide emitted from the mine. In October 2003, the State Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning Office found high levels of arsenic, chromium, and manganese in almost all water sources within the vicinity of the plant.

The fly ash has also affected the crops of villagers. According to one villager, her planted vegetables and fruits died because of the toxics that the coal power plant emitted. Another villager recounted that her pineapple plantation wilt over the years. Farmlands have been negatively affected by acid rain which is attributed to the sulfuric dioxide released by the coal power plant. In May 2004, the Thai Provincial court awarded US$142,500 to the villagers for crop damages caused by the coal power plant.

To mitigate the negative impacts of the plant, pollution control devices, such as flue gas desulfurization (FGD) and ionizing wet scrubbers, were installed by the government.

Involuntary Resettlement Policy

Due to the implementation of the project, more than 30,000 people have been displaced. According to reports, Thailand’s cabinet previously offered to build houses for those who were affected. However, there has reportedly been no progress.

Community opposition

In 2003 communities near the power station and lignite mines sued Egat in Administrative Court seeking redress from mining power generation fallouts. In February 2015, the Supreme Administrative Court ordered the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand to set up a committee to consider evacuating villagers affected by pollution from the lignite mines and Mae Moh power plant out of the five-kilometre radius from the facilities.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.