Thailand produces power from garbage

BANGKOK, September 19 (TNA) - A waste-to-energy project has been launched in Thailand’s eastern seaside Rayong Province, under which daily fresh garbage is used to produce electricity for local consumption. The project will be jointly run by Global Power Synergy Company Limited (GPSC), a subsidiary of PTT Public Company Limited (PTT), Thailand's giant petroleum firm, and Rayong's Provincial Administrative Organization, after both sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the initiative on Friday, with a total investment fund of about 1.2 billion baht. GPSC board chair Surong Bulakul told journalists that during the project's first phase, some eight megawatts of electricity will be produced from about 300 tonnes of fresh garbage per day by the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) to serve demand of 1,500-2,000 local households. Surong said that additional eight megawatts of electricity will be later produced from about 500 tonnes of fresh garbage per day by the PEA under the project's second phase in the future. According to the GPSC board chair, the project is aimed at helping ease environmental problems and greenhouse gas emissions in order to relieve the global warming or climate change problem. (TNA)