Quang Ninh thermal power plant (Illustrative image. Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam Energy Outlook Report 2019 (EOR), one of the outstanding results of the cooperation between Vietnam’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 the goal of reducing coal consumption and hydropower dependence as well as saving energy and promoting the use of renewable energy in Vietnam.
To obtain the target of developing renewable energy, Danish experts recommended Vietnam reduce coal consumption, increase the use of energy-efficient means, and support large-scale energy-saving investment projects.
Jakob Stenby Lundsager, long-term advisor for the Danish Energy Partnership Programme in Vietnam, said Vietnam has become a net 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 into reducing 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 current coal consumption trend, he suggested.
Meanwhile, Morten Baek, Permanent Secretary at the Danish Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate, said Vietnam has abundant sources of solar energy, wind power, and biomass, which is favourable for renewable energy development to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution.
Danish experts also recommended that energy saving should be a top priority in Vietnam’s eighth power plan, adding that a stable, simple, transparent legal framework and increased competitiveness for renewable energy projects could help the proportion of renewable energy in the electricity structure reach 40 percent by 2030.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said the EOR provides useful information about the development of electricity and energy systems in short and long terms in Vietnam, in line with the orientations of the Vietnamese Government on sustainable energy development in association with environmental protection and energy security.
In 2013, the Vietnamese and Danish Governments signed long-term cooperation agreements in energy. The first Vietnam Energy Outlook Report was published in 2017./.
VNA
