Vietnam is grappling to
generate enough energy to power the economy.
Vietnam’s electricity
consumption has grown twice as fast as the country’s economic growth rate.
The average energy consumption inVietnam grew
13 percent from 2006-2010, and by about 11 percent from 2011-2015, said Le Tuan
Phong, deputy head of the General Directorate of Energy. The country is on the
path towards powering itself by 2030, Phong said.
The country’s power
production is expected to grow at an annual rate of 14 percent between 2015 and
2030.
Fossil fuels still
dominate Vietnamese energy consumption. According to the World Bank, over 66.2
percent of the country’s energy comes from fossil fuels.
Vietnam’s annual coal
output is currently about 40 million tons, official statistics show.
Coal has taken over from
hydro power as the leading source of electricity in Vietnam, which has recently
become a net coal importer.
In response to fast
growing demand for power, Vietnam is building more coal-fired thermal plants
and buying electricity from neighboring China as part of measures to avoid
outages.
Vietnam, however, is
faced with a two-fold energy challenge. The country has to generate enough
energy for economic growth and for millions of people who still lack access to
energy services, while gradually shifting towards clean, low-carbon energy,
said Tran Dinh Thien, head of the Vietnam Economic Institute.
“Vietnam’s economic
growth still relies heavily on the exploitation of natural resources and
relatively low-tech production. Industries such as cement and steel use a
colossal amount of energy,” said Thien, adding that only 2 percent of local
businesses are high-tech driven.
The Vietnamese government
should change the country's economic structure and prioritize energy-saving
industries, Thien suggested.
Half of Vietnamese
households use solar energy
Along with the need to
decrease the reliance on fossil fuels, the country needs to build an energy
sector more focused on renewable energy, particularly solar energy.
To put Vietnam on a path
to a clean energy economy, the government plans to cut coal consumption by 30
percent by 2030.
The government has also
opened up its renewable energy sector to foreign
investors, allowing them to invest in power generation. Official
statistics show that in 2013, foreign investments in energy through the Build –
Operate – Transfer model accounted for 6 percent of total installed capacity.
The country is also
restructuring its power sector by breaking up its retail power monopoly EVN to
develop a competitive retail power market by 2030.
Vietnam is aiming to
generate enough energy to power almost every home by 2020 and increase
residential solarpower usage to 50
percent of households nationwide by 2050.
Source: Bao Vnexpress
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