Vietnam has seen a boom in renewable energy projects, in a bid to meet the nation’s future demands for power, after the Government scrapped plans to build a nuclear power plant in Ninh Thuan Province.

“Sustainable Scenario for the Vietnamese power sector until 2050”, a report by WWF-Vietnam and Vietnam Sustainable Energy Alliance (VSEA) says that 100 percent of Vietnam’s power could be generated by renewable energy technologies by 2050. 

GreenID has  pointed out risks that Vietnam will face if it continues developing coal-fired power projects.

Vietnam had a bumper year in attracting FDI (foreign direct investment) in 2017. The three coal-fired thermal power projects registered by Japanese investors had total capital of $7 billion.

VietNamNet Bridge - A report from USAID found that by the end of July 2017 hundreds of solar power projects had been committed which have a total capacity of 17,000 MW.

Soon after the Prime Minister agreed to Bac Lieu province’s proposal to cancel the Cai Cung thermopower project, investors visited the area to seek opportunities to develop renewable power projects.

HCMC alone discharges 8,300 tons of waste every day, 76 percent of which is buried. Much of the waste could be recycled into clean energy.

VietNamNet Bridge - The investment rate in solar power systems is now just equal to 20-30 percent of the rate of 10 years ago.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam is considered the second biggest potential market in Southeast Asia for solar power. 

While Vietnamese believe that the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the only electricity retailer, sets high retail prices, international reports point out that the electricity price in Vietnam is lower than in other countries.

The Mekong Connection Initiative believes that Vietnam should become the major importer of electricity from Laos. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Investors have registered solar energy projects in a rush following PM’s Decision No 11 on encouraging investments in solar energy.

Sugar mill owners remain cautious about plans to generate electricity from bagasse, while experts say the low price of electricity produced from bagasse makes investors hesitate to invest in the field.

Countries around the world are racing to create new energy sources as traditional energy sources such as fossil fuels and hydroelectricity are running out while the demand for energy for socio-economic development is on the rise. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Many of the coal-fired thermal power plants in Vietnam are Chinese invested, developed with Chinese capital and run with Chinese technology.

As the amount of ash and slag left untreated at coal-fired thermopower plants is increasing, some ministries have proposed lowering the required environmental standards to help the plants deal with the problem.

VietNamNet Bridge - Solar power is considered a type of clean energy, but scientists are still arguing about how clean it is.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam is planning to increase the generation of electricity from waste to help ease pollution and reserve land for purposes other than dumping grounds. 

First Solar has returned and other investors are coming to Vietnam with large-scale production plans in anticipation of domestic demand and export opportunities for solar panels thanks to preferential tariffs.

Realizing that waste is a ‘gold mine’ which can be recycled to generate power, one investor has spent tens of millions of dollars to develop projects to turn waste into electricity in HCMC and Tay Ninh and Binh Duong provinces.