<p>The authorities have arrested 16 southern environmental activists after brief clash with the protesters.</p> <p>At 4:30 pm on 27 November 2017, military and police officers arrested 16 key leaders of the network from Songkhla and Pattani provinces protesting against the planned coal-fired power plant and deep sea port in Songkhla.</p> <p>Those detained include Direk Hemnakhon, Somboon Kamhaeng, and Ekachai Isarata.</p>

<p>People in Songkhla and Pattani have rallied against plans for a coal-fired power plant and deep sea port ahead of a cabinet meeting.</p> <p>On 26 November 2017, a network from Songkhla and Pattani provinces protesting against a planned coal-fired power plant held a rally in Songkhla ahead of the coming cabinet meeting in the province on 28 November.</p> <p>The group plans to submit a petition to Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, asking the government to cancel plans for a 2,200-megawatt power plant and deep sea port in Thepha District, Songkhla.</p>

<p>The authorities are still pushing an energy policy that ignores local interests and the environment, even after February protests temporarily halted a coal-fired power station in Krabi. &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p></p>

<p dir="ltr">The UK, once almost entirely reliant on coal-fired energy, had its<a href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/1236514/uk-has-first-day-without-relying-on-coal-for-power-since-1880s"> first coal-free day</a> since 1880 this month (Friday 21st April), meaning it is on schedule to be completely coal free by 2025. More coal-free days will depend on the availability of solar, especially in June and July. Approximately half the UK’s energy comes from gas, 30% from renewables and inter-country agreements, and the rest from nuclear.</p>

<p>Southern civil society groups have denounced a public forum held by the junta to gather feedback on its pro-coal policies, saying the event was merely self-promotion.</p> <p>On 27 March 2017, Lt Gen Piyawat Nakwanich, a representative of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), presided over a public forum on energy policy in southern Thailand. The forum was convened in Mueang District, Krabi Province.</p> <p>The event was organised by&nbsp;<a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/7027">a controversial committee</a>, more than half of whose members are military officers.</p>

<p>To promote its controversial pro-coal policy, the junta has set up a committee to gather public feedback and promote understanding. But military officers occupy more than half of the committee seats.</p> <p>On 22 March 2017, the Royal Gazette website published&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2560/E/047/1.PDF">the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s Order No. 5/2017</a>&nbsp;to establish a committee on energy policy in Southern Thailand.</p>

<p>The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has filed defamation lawsuits against people accusing it of causing environmental destruction. &nbsp;</p> <p>On 13 March 2017, Pranee Tangseree, Assistant Governor of EGAT’s Legal Affairs Bureau, revealed that&nbsp;<a href="http://energynewscenter.com/index.php/news/detail/647">EGAT had filed 15 complaints</a>&nbsp;to the police against people posting content on social media accusing its power plants of pollution leading to sickness and death.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Thailand’s cabinet has halted plans to build a controversial coal-fired power plant in the southern Krabi province. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>An association against global warming has filed a lawsuit against five Thai government entities over plans to build more coal-fired power plants.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Fusion, a more environmentally friendly form of energy that operates at the nuclear level, but by combining atoms -- typically forms of hydrogen -- is a potential new answer not only for Thailand's quest for clean energy but for the requirements of the entire planet, and especially economies in transition.</p>

<div>Fully armed soldiers guarded state electricity executives during their visit to a controversial coal-fired power plant project in Thailand’s restive Deep South amid opposition from the local community.</div> <p>On Wednesday, 13 July 2016, armed troops and Humvees were sent to guard executives of the state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) during their visit to the site of a coal-fired power plant project in Thepha District, Songkhla Province.</p>