The total amount of ash and flag produced by coal-fired thermopower plants is likely to reach 422 million tons by 2030.

Thousands of tons of ash and slag from Mong Duong 1 Thermal power Plant in Cam Pha City of Quang Ninh province was dumped into the environment early this month.

VietNamNet Bridge - As Vietnam intends to develop a seaborne economy, it must think of solutions to treat sludge, as the volume will be increasing in the future, scientists say.

VietNamNet Bridge - Coal-fired thermal power plants’ investors have asked for permission to submerge sludge and waste in the sea, raising big concerns about sea pollution.

Energy experts have reassured the public that Vietnam uses advanced technologies in coal-fired thermopower plants, which continue to be the major choice for electricity generation projects. 

Thermal power will continue to be the major electricity generation source for Vietnam in upcoming years, but citizens are becoming increasingly vocal about the undesired environmental impact of such projects. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Many coal-fired thermopower projects have been proposed recently despite environmentalists’ call to stop developing thermal power. Most of them are Chinese invested.

The development of coal-fired power plants in Vietnam depends largely on foreign financial resources, especially China. 

Just days after authorities permitted Vinh Tan 1 power plant to pour nearly 1 million cubic meters of sludge into the sea, EVNGENCO 3, another power generator, said it wanted to pour 2.4 million cubic meters of sludge into the Binh Thuan sea.

VietNamNet Bridge - The sea area from Khanh Hoa to Binh Thuan, which is above a coral triangle, has been seriously affected by sludge.

VietNamNet Bridge - While affirming that FDI from China will bring capital and jobs, economists say the FDI flow should be received in a selective way.

VietNamNet Bridge - MOIT is consulting with Long An and HCMC local authorities about the location for the Long An Power Center, which HCM City opposes. 

If state management agencies approve a plan to sink 1.5 million cubic meters of waste sludge into waters, the waste will destroy the entire biological and physical circle of a vast sea area. 

VietNamNet Bridge - In developed countries, 90 percent of ash and slag from plants is treated and recycled into materials useful for industry. In Vietnam, the figure is 10 percent.

Five thermal power projects have been developed in Binh Thuan province, raising serious concerns about pollution, as the plants are located near marine protected area (MPA).

VietNamNet Bridge – The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) has told thermal power plants belonging to EVN to open their doors once a month to local authorities and the public to visit and monitor the operation of the plants.