{"id":88683,"date":"2021-11-30T22:39:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T15:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ekuatorial.com\/?p=88683"},"modified":"2021-12-03T23:37:55","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T16:37:55","slug":"vung-ang-and-suralaya-so-far-yet-so-close-in-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ekuatorial.com\/en\/2021\/11\/vung-ang-and-suralaya-so-far-yet-so-close-in-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Vung Ang and Suralaya: So far yet so close in experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Seulki Lee<\/strong> (Seoul), Della Syahni<\/strong> (Jakarta), Lam Le<\/strong> (Ho Chi Minh City)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paddy fields dry out, framed fish die, and banana trees don\u2019t bear fruit in Vung Ang, a coastal town in Vietnam overlooking the South China Sea. Residents in Suralaya, in Indonesia\u2019s West Java, suffer from undrinkable groundwater and similarly bare mango trees. But Vung Ang and Suralaya aren\u2019t towns apart, as their plight is connected to the political and economic calculations of a player thousands of kilometers away: South Korea. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vung Ang-2: The threat of pollution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Le Manh Hung, a 39-year-old man from a village near Vung Ang, has seen decay and pollution firsthand. He lives with his aging mother, wife, and daughter on the piece of land that is planned for construction of the Vung Ang-2 coal-fired power plant. Hung has been working at the Vung Ang-1 plant, right next door, for about a year, transferring coal from ships in port up to the facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis phenomenon has been going on for the past few years. We can\u2019t really attribute this to local people or the power plant because we don\u2019t have enough knowledge of testing to conclude [this]. It\u2019s just an observation we pass around,\u201d said Hung.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Youn
<\/span>Youn Dong<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Le Manh Hung, A 39-year-old man from a village near Vung Ang has been working at the Vung Ang-1 plant for about a year<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Hung describes the job as \u201ctoxic\u201d to the point that his clothes change colors after work. Wearing a mask is essential for him to \u201cbreathe\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe plant\u2019s wastewater has also polluted this area. Wherever the wastewater goes, the impact follows. Most locals\u2019 livelihoods are linked to aquaculture and there are no more rice paddies for us to work on. To be exact, a number of households continue to farm but due to impacts from Vung Ang 1, and upcoming Vung Ang 2, many can\u2019t any longer. Now they just let cows graze on the rice paddies,\u201d explained Hung. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A resident from Hai Phong village near Vung Ang-1 power plant also worries about water quality.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Yuon
<\/span>Yuon Dong<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
A yellow well water in Vung Ang neighborhood make local residents concerned about water contamination from coal-fired power plant factory wastewate<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe water source is polluted. The water from the well is yellow. We bought a water purifier to cook 5 years ago. It\u2019s very dirty, the pond is polluted. Over the past 2-3 years, trees and plants can\u2019t grow. It probably has to do with the plant or something else. The banana trees aren\u2019t bearing fruit. I\u2019m afraid this will affect our health,\u201d says a woman from Hai Phong village who requested we not use her name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Korean investment: What sustains overseas coal plants<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Vung Ang-2 is not just a Vietnamese concern, as it is financially sustained by South Korean investment. South Korea\u2019s state-owned utility firm, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), acquired a 40% stake in Vung Ang-2Japan\u2019s Mitsubishi holds another 40%. Meanwhile, the country\u2019s major coal plant engineering companies, Doosan Heavy Samsung C&T operate an engineering and procurement contract (EPC) on Vung Ang-2 worth US$1.44 billion. The EPC was originally signed by General Electric (GE) and Guangdong Power Engineering Corporation (GPEC). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

GE and GPEC withdrew from the project over the years due to unfavorable financial prospects and the insufficient competitiveness of coal-fired power plant investment. Global banks like Standard Chartered and Singapore\u2019s DBS also pulled out for the same reasons in 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But South Korean firms are proceeding full steam ahead. Despite concerns about environmental and social impacts on local communities, Vung Ang-2 is scheduled to start commercial power generation in the third quarter of 2025<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a highly unpleasant facility for local residents, and in fact, it has a huge impact on the quality of local life,\u201d said Youn Sejong, the director of climate advocacy group Solutions for Our Climate in Seoul.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Yuon
<\/span>Yuon Dong<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Local livelihoods in Vung Ang include struggling to survive in the midst of water and air pollution allegedly derived from the nearby coal-fired power plant<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cIt is not profitable. At least for the past decade, KEPCO has not made profits by investing in overseas coal power generation projects because global energy market have transitioned away from fossil fuel to renewables,\u201d added Youn who has been keeping tabs on KEPCO\u2019s participation in Vung Ang-2 and another project with substantial Korean investment,Indonesia\u2019s Jawa 9 & 10 coal power plant, since early 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For its part, KEPCO claims to be confident in its environmental technology and profitability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKEPCO uses the latest low-carbon eco-friendly USC (ultra supercritical) technology, not old-fashioned technology, to minimize atmospheric emissions, and additionally installs environmental facilities (dehydration facilities, coal yard covers) at an additional cost despite the expected loss to the business owner. It is planning to operate [as] eco-friendly by applying stricter environmental standards than the World Bank, as well as Vietnam’s standard,\u201d reads a KEPCO\u2019s press release from last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company also emphasizes that the Vung Ang-2 project is a \u201cTeam Korea project\u201d wherein Korean companies in all fields, such as in EPC, are entering together to demonstrate the high level of national interest through public-private business cooperation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is expected to create a synergy export effect of about US$770 million (54% of the EPC amount) with domestic companies. More than 340 domestic small and medium-sized companies can cooperate in equipment, design, and construction to expect exports. By this way, it is also expected to produce 640 billion won (US$54 million) in exports and ripple effects forSMEs,\u201d added KEPCO.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Yuon
<\/span>Yuon Dong<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Mural depicting Vung Ang in Hai Phong village, near the Vung Ang-1 coal-fired power plant<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suralaya: Far away but close in experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some 4,000 km away from Vung Ang, Suralaya another coastal town in Indonesia, near the Sunda Strait, suffers from undrinkable groundwater and bare mango trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two towns share similar concerns and a common feature in their midst. They are the powerhouse of their regions in part because  of  massive coal-fired power plants funded by foreign money in their backyards. <\/p>\n\n\n

\"Eka
<\/span>Eka Nickmatulhuda<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Nurhasanah and her son, Tediansyah, are local residents in a village just across from the Suralaya coal-fired power plant, also known as PLTU Suralaya<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cBlack particles of ash get carried in the wind all the way here. That\u2019s why people always get sick, cough. My child has been sick with a cough and colds since he was a baby,\u201d said Nurhasanah, a resident from Suralaya, West Java.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suralaya is home to 6,000 residents and a 4,052 MW coal-fired thermal power complex. The facility in the northwest corner of Java Island, is the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia. Jawa 9 & 10 coal-fired units of the complex  (capacity 2,000 MW) are the latest addition–Suralaya already has eight coal-fired steam power plants in operation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cActually, there were lots of bats when there were many trees alive here. The bat from Merak Island, across the Suralaya shore, flew over here to look for food before [the coal plant was built]. It was so crowded with bats. Now the trees have fallen and died. There are no more bats coming in,\u201d said Jamian, a villager of Lebak Gede, near the Suralaya coal power complex. Until February 2018, he worked as a security guard for Jawa 9 & 10 units of Suralaya coal-power complex for two years while a beach reclamation project was taking place before construction on them began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as in the case of Vun Ang, South Korea\u2019s KEPCO and Doosan Heavy appear again in Jawa 9 & 10’s project profile. KEPCO holds a 15% share in the project shares, with around US$1.9 billion provided by public financing from the South Korean government. Doosan Heavy is an EPC contractor earning US$1.3 billion out of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doosan Heavy is one of South Korea\u2019s leading coal power developers, with the sector accounting for up to 80% of its projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents of Suralaya have long been horrified by the impact of coal power plants in their neighborhood for a generation, even before Jawa 9 & 10 arose, as Masitah, a 35-year-old homemaker recounts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy sister and my daughter have lung diseases. It was really bad, there were many hollows in their lungs from the X-ray results. My sister had a chronic lung disease and passed away when she was in her 20s. But since the units come in, there\u2019s no job or money to get medical treatment,\u201d explained Masitah.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Eka
<\/span>Eka Nickmatulhuda<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Masitah and her daughter, Aqifa Nayla, in her house near the Suralaya power plant<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

To calm local residents\u2019 concern about the environmental and health impacts of Jawa 9 & 10, Indonesia\u2019s national power developer stressed the advanced technology utilized by South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe use generator technology that has been proven to be the most efficient USC and equipment to minimize the environmental impact of emitting gas, such as the ElectroStatic Precipitator to reduce dust particles and Flue Gas Desulfurization to reduce sulfur levels, and Selected Catalytic Reduction to deal with NOx levels.These are better environment management equipments than the existing ones in Suralaya complex,\u201d claimed Igan Subawa Putra, the company secretary of PT Indonesia Power, a subsidiary of the government-owned power company PLN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tale of two towns: A grim tale unlikely to end soon<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, South Korea\u2019s top decision makers in the presidential office the Blue House decided to designate the Jawa 9 & 10 and Vung Ang-2 coal power plant projects as the \u201clast overseas coal energy investments for South Korea\u201d in the wake of public outcry, as well as international pressure for emissions reductions.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Eka
<\/span>Eka Nickmatulhuda <\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Suralaya Power Plant unit 1-7 in Cilegon, Banten, Indonesia<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

The decision makes South Korea and Japan the only two (out of 38) OECD member countries to invest in overseas coal energy. Ironically, the South Korean government has been making a groundbreaking turn in its domestic energy mix from coal to renewables under President Moon Jae-in\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Korea\u2019s \u201c8th Basic Plan for Long-term Power Supply and Demand\u201d sends a clear policy message about the energy transition by referring to a reduction in coal-fired power generation in the country\u2019s energy portfolio from 31.6% in 2017 to 22.9% in 2031. It proposes a dramatic increase in the share of renewables from 9.7% (2017) to 33.6% (2031).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 2021, South Korea announced the intention to increase the country\u2019s previous 2030 emissions targets agreed to in December 2020. \u201cIt is not yet aligned with what’s needed globally to be on a Paris Agreement-compatible 1.5 degree consistent pathway,\u201d wrote Climate Action Tracker in its country report on South Korea<\/a> recently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even before their COP26 commitment<\/a>, Indonesia and Vietnam have also prioritized renewables as part of an urgent energy policy direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam released a draft proposal of the national Power Development Plan (PDP) for the period of 2021-2030. According to this draft<\/a>, Vietnam is planning to reduce coal-fired power from 34% in 2020 to 27% by 2030, then reduce its reliance on coal energy again to 17-18% by 2045.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By using a 10-year period, Indonesia\u2019s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL 2021-2030)<\/a> announced early this year that the country would give more shares to renewables, up to 47%, while the remaining 52% would still be provided by fossil-fuel based power plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe economics of renewable energy will be different even though it\u2019s expensive right now. But the cost of renewable technology is already declining, and the investment cost is rapidly decreasing. In terms of finance, renewables will be more competitive than coal in the current speed of global energy transition,\u201d said Fabby Tumiwa, executive director of an Indonesian private policy think tank, the Institute for Essential Services Reform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He adds that if South Korea gives up coal and instead creates financing vehicles through South Korean public banks to invest in Indonesian renewable energy projects, it will dramatically alter the direction of both countries\u2019 energy transition in a just way, ultimately benefiting the economy and public health in both countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n