In this light, how should we view the Thai government’s long-time dream of introducing nuclear power into Thailand’s national energy mix? To my mind, we can only conclude that it’s time to wake up from dreaming and face reality. Our country can hardly afford the enormous cost of building reactors. If we take on such a project, we can expect the cost to balloon as the years go by. Proponents of nuclear argue that it will give Thailand energy independence, instead of having to rely on Myanmar for natural gas and hydropower. Yet the technology of nuclear energy is beyond Thailand’s abilities, and foreign expertise in building and running any nuclear plant will be required. Hinkley Point shows that the security issue is just as important to consider as the energy independence one. After all, what is independence without security? We should also keep in mind that Thailand has enormous potential to develop its wind and solar power capacity. The first steps in this direction have already been taken: as of 2013, Khorat is now home to ASEAN’s largest wind farm. By continuing along the path of alternative energy, we can emulate the UK and avoid creating our own white elephants.