Shipping is a dirty industry and a notable source of greenhouse gas emissions. Thailand’s Laem Chabang Port is looking at ways it can go green. To make that happen, the government announced its focused on infrastructure development that can reduce the use of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide emissions of the facility’s planned third phase.
Officials have cited the Rotterdam Model as an inspiration for Laem Chabang Phase 3 with the port set to be the first 100 percent green facility of its kind in Thailand. Significant efforts are being made to implement clean energy, renewable energy and further develop Green Hydrogen production and usage.
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While plans are still being developed, a recent Krungthai Compass Research Center report highlighted three areas that would have the most impact:
1) Using electric trucks and battery-swapping technology
If Laem Chabang Port uses electric trucks, approximately 1,000 tons of diesel consumption can be saved daily. This would provide fuel cost savings of around THB800 million baht annually and cut approximately 48,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
2) Using solar power
By using solar power wherever possible, the facility could slash approximately 4,900 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
3) Changing cargo transport systems to railways
The development plan for Laem Chabang Phase 3 will focus on rail cargo transport systems which are estimated to reduce costs by around THB1.2 billion baht per year and CO2 emissions by approximately 790,000 tons annually.
Additionally, Krungthai Compass Research Center noted that Laem Chabang Port incorporating these green elements would boost individual industries as well. For example, Thailand’s electric truck and battery production industries would see at least THB18 billion of activity.
Currently, the Thai government is looking to make Laem Chabang Phase 3 development a public-private sector partnership. The project itself has been delayed for nearly two years and it remains to be seen if all these green elements are incorporated into the final version.
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