Quang Ninh thermal power plant (Illustrative image. Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam Energy OutlookReport 2019 (EOR), one of the outstanding results of the cooperation betweenVietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and Denmark’s Ministry of Energy,Utilities and Climate, was launched in Hanoi on November 4.
The EOR presented three scenarios to achieve thegoal of reducing coal consumption and hydropower dependence as well as savingenergy and promoting the use of renewable energy in Vietnam.
To obtain the target of developing renewableenergy, Danish experts recommended Vietnam reduce coal consumption, increase theuse of energy-efficient means, and support large-scale energy-saving investmentprojects.
Jakob Stenby Lundsager, long-term advisor forthe Danish Energy Partnership Programme in Vietnam, said Vietnam has become anet importer of coal since 2015 and the trend is increasing. From 2020 to 2030,fuel imports will increase by three times and eight times by 2050.
He proposed Vietnam early start research intoreducing coal demand and take early action in coal power consumption.
Promoting the development of renewable energy,energy saving, and gas thermal power may contribute to reversing the currentcoal consumption trend, he suggested.
Meanwhile, Morten Baek, Permanent Secretary atthe Danish Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate, said Vietnam has abundantsources of solar energy, wind power, and biomass, which is favourable forrenewable energy development to reduce greenhouse gas emissions andenvironmental pollution.
Danish experts also recommended that energysaving should be a top priority in Vietnam’s eighth power plan, addingthat a stable, simple, transparent legal framework and increasedcompetitiveness for renewable energy projects could help the proportion ofrenewable energy in the electricity structure reach 40 percent by 2030.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang QuocVuong said the EOR provides useful information about the development ofelectricity and energy systems in short and long terms in Vietnam, in line withthe orientations of the Vietnamese Government on sustainable energy developmentin association with environmental protection and energy security.
In 2013, the Vietnamese and Danish Governmentssigned long-term cooperation agreements in energy. The first Vietnam EnergyOutlook Report was published in 2017./.
VNA
