Renewable energy development: an urgent task

Climate change has raised the urgency for reducing the use of fossil fuels. As coal-based electricity generation is considered against the global trend, the effective use of energy and renewable energy development are expected to play a vital role in the domestic energy sector’s development.

 

 

Over the last five years, the proportion of electricity generated from coal-fired power plants across the country doubled from that of 2010, from 17% in that year to 34% in 2015. The figure has been forecast to account for 55% of the total electricity output by 2025.

 

According to statistics, Vietnam is currently ranked 20th around the globe in regards to the use of thermal power with a coal-fired generation capacity of 14GW. It is projected that by 2030 the country will be using an amount of coal 15 times higher than that of 2012 and become the eight largest user of coal generated power in the world.

Wind turbines installed at Bac Lieu wind power plant in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu; Vietnam has tremendous potential for renewable energy from solar, wind and biomass. (Photo courtesy of Bac Lieu wind farm)

That means the import of coal for thermal power plants will increase from 1.3 million tonnes in 2015 to 64 million tonnes by 2020 and 155 million tonnes by 2030.

Experts have warned that the increase of thermal power has led to increased greenhouse gas emissions, which is particularly concerning as Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change.

 

Nguy Thi Khanh, Director at Green Innovation and Development Centre (GreenID), said that the increased proportion of coal-fired generated power in Vietnam’s energy structure has gone against the global trend, while energy development demands have laid negative impacts on the environment.

 

Many reports showed that coal-fired power plants are the biggest source of emissions in the field of energy development and also the main cause of air pollution.

 

Energy development in line with environmental protection

 

 

As outlined in the government’s revised plan for electricity development, the State set-out a number of measures to reduce the negative effect of coal-fired power generation on the environment, such as encouraging the application of modern technologies in the sector.

 

However, studies also pointed out that negative impacts to the environment and human health cannot be sufficiently dealt with using modern technologies.

 

The latest report from the Japanese Kiko Network at the 21st session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21) outlined the failures of the current state of art coal-fired power generation technology – the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), which is applied in most of the major coal-fired power plants around the world.

 

According to the report, IGCC only helps to reduce a maximum of 20% to the total amount of emissions, while requiring complex technical operation with a 35% higher cost than traditional technologies.

 

Since 2014, nations around the world have reduced or completely terminated the operations of coal-fired power plants.

 

Admitting coal-fired generated energy still plays a key role in developing countries, Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Huy Phung, a member under the National Advisory Council on Climate Change, said that in the future this source of energy should be reduced and replaced by other renewable energy sources.

 

Regarding such irremediable cons, the Vietnam Sustainable Energy Alliance (VSEA) suggested that the most optimal, effective and cheapest measure for Vietnam to ensure its energy security is to practically use current energy sources while developing renewable ones.

 

GreenID estimated that by 2030 Vietnam could reduce up to 208 billion kWh of power generated from coal-fired plants in comparison with those set in the mentioned above revised plan for electricity development with efficient energy management plans combined with realistic energy demand forecasts. The measures would also help save US$40-50 billion in construction costs of new power plants.

 

An additional advantage is the huge potential of renewable energy from solar, wind and biomass with an estimated capacity of 37,818 MW, approximately on par with the current national electricity system’s capacity.

 

For those reasons, Vietnam could rely on its own sources of energy to ensure energy security without being dependent on energy imports.