Authorities of the Mekong Delta province of Long An have just sent a proposal to the Ministry of Industry and Trade seeking approval for developing power plants using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) instead of coal as suggested by the ministry and the consultant, a local official said.

A view of the Duyen Hai thermal power plant in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh. Long An Province insists on LPG-fired power plants to fight pollution

The shift from coal to LPG is meant to protect the environment, but by insisting on such a move, the provincial government may risk losing the projects.

Le Minh Duc, director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, confirmed to The Saigon Times today, August 29, that “Long An Province has just sent a proposal to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, expressing its wish to develop LPG-fired power plants although PECC2 as the consultant advised the province to use coal.”

Power Engineering Consulting Joint Stock Co. 2 (PECC2), a shareholding concern established by the State utility Vietnam Electricity Group under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in a meeting with Long An authorities early this month, advocated for coal-fired plants, saying it is cheaper than the LPG version.

Duc told The Saigon Times after that meeting that even the Ministry of Industry and Trade also wanted Long An to resort to coal-fired power plants, which should be developed at the Power Complex in Can Duoc District under the national master plan on power development. If Long An follows the ministry’s suggestion, the power complex will remain in the national master plan, otherwise the complex would be eliminated from the plan.

Under the national master plan on power development, Can Duoc District is envisaged housing a power complex with two coal-fired plants with a combined capacity of 2,800MW. However, the provincial government in May last year already sought the ministry’s approval to turn such power plants into the ones using LPG or diesel oil, citing concerns over the environmental pollution.

In the latest petition to the ministry, Long An once again pleaded to authorities to maintain the scheme on developing the Can Duoc Power Complex and to develop LPG power plants there.

Duc of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade said that a number of investors have shown keen interest in LPG power plants in Long An.

Coal-fired power not cheap

PECC2 has asserted to Long An authorities that coal-fired power generation is suitable for Long An since the cost will be lower while high-tech application will minimize impacts on the environment. However, many experts doubt the consultant’s assertion.

Tran Dinh Sinh, deputy director of GreenID as an advocator of green energy and other environmental protection solutions, said coal-fired power plants are not less costly even if the most advanced technology is applied. However, if all environmental impacts are factored in, the real cost would be much higher.

The production cost at coal-fired power plants is some 7.5 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour, Sinh said, but if environmental and socio-economic impacts are taken into account, the final cost could be as high as 12.5 U.S. cents, far higher than the solar power cost at just 9.35 U.S. cents.

Even if the most advanced technology, namely the ultrasuper-critical technology, is applied, the amount of coal in use can be reduced by 7% to 10% only, and thus the reduced emission is insignificant.

Le Anh Tuan, vice president of the Climate Change Research Institute of Can Tho University, said coal-fired power production is cheaper in the initial stage only, but in the long run, it will have great consequences on the environment, the people’s health, and other economic sectors such as tourism. Therefore, coal-fired power generation after all is not cheap.

In the past, in the wake of public protests against coal-fired power plants, Long An Province wanted to move such plants farther afield from residential areas, but in close proximity to HCMC. Such a plan, however, stoked up objection from HCMC authorities.

“That shows most people see coal-fired power plants as dumpsites, and no one want them to be built near their homes,” Tuan gave a comparison.

 SGT