Feature story - 2 May, 2002
The Thai village of Ban Krut is the site of a proposed coal-fired power plant, but today the community received from Greenpeace the kind of energy they truly want: clean, renewable solar power.
Abbot greets Greenpeace activists during hand over of solar installation.
Directors from 26 Greenpeace offices gathered today in Ban Krut,
Thailand, and received the blessing of Buddhist monks after handing
over two systems of solar panels to the local community.
Greenpeace installed the solar panels at a temple in Ban Krut
and at a school in the village of Bo Nok to show the Thai
government that the local community is serious in its desire for
renewable energy alternatives to the proposed coal fired power
stations.
For the past eight years, the people of Ban Krut and Bo Nok in
the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan have opposed plans by US energy
company Edison and the Thai company Gulf Power to build two coal
fired power stations in the region. A consortium of US, Japanese,
Hong Kong and Thai companies is funding the proposed plants.
Greenpeace executive director Gerd Leipold said, "Thailand does
need energy -- energy from the sun, wind and the ocean. But not
from dirty, old fashioned technology dumped on them by big
international companies like Edison."
"Two billion people globally live without access to electricity.
Greenpeace is asking governments at the Earth Summit to kick start
the renewables age by committing to massive investments in safe,
clean power to these people, without harming the climate," said
Leipold.
In January when the Prime Minister of Thailand visited the site
of the proposed coal-fired power plant, 20,000 protestors met him.
He is expected to announce a decision on whether or not to cancel
the plants in the very near future.
Link:
Clean Energy Now! site