In mid-2015, government plans to build an 800 megawatt coal-fired electricity generating station 13 in the province have generated protests and hunger strikes by those opposed to the plant who say that it would endanger Krabi's relatively pristine environment. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has pushed forward with development despite not having completed an environmental impact study. The government intends to start the bidding process without an environmental assessment in order to "save time". The Krabi site is one of nine coal-fired plants planned for southern Thailand to be constructed over the next two decades to off-set the depletion of natural gas fields in the Gulf of Thailand. Opponents of the plan say their demands—which include a three-year waiting period to see if the province can produce 100% renewable energy—have been ignored