Mr. Nguyen Duc Cuong, Director of Center for RE&CDM, IE, MOIT
Vietnam has high potential of renewable energy resources. Exploitable and usable renewable energy resources which are identified so far include small hydropower, wind energy, biomass, biogas, biofuels, solid wastes, solar energy and geothermal energy.
Small hydrpwer: This energy resurce is cnsidered as the mst viable in financial-ecnmic terms. The latest assessment reprts indicate that at present, mre than 1,000 sites identifies as having ptential fr small hydrpwer develpment at scale f frm 100kW t 30MW, ttal installed capacity f ver 7,000 MW. These hydrpwer lcatins are mainly cncentrated in the nrthern muntainus areas, suth-central area and Highlands
Wind energy: Vietnam is cnsidered as a cuntry with high ptential f wind energy develpment, hwever, s far, wind data are nt sufficient due t lack f wind measurement and survey. Wind ptential assessment data are relatively different with relatively big variatin in the range frm 1,800MW t ver 9,000MW, even there is data f ver 100,000MW. Accrding t Vietnam wind ptential data, high wind is available in central castal areas, the suth, highlands and n islands.
Bimass energy: Vietnam is an agricultural cuntry, having high ptential f bimass. Main bimass types include fuel wd, wastes-residues frm crps, husbandry wastes, municipal slid wastes, and ther rganic wastes. Sustainable explitatin ptential f bimass fr energy prductin in Vietnam is abut 150 tns/year. Sme types f bimass are explitable in technical terms fr electricity prductin r fr cgeneratin technlgy (prductin f bth electricity and heat) including: rice husks in Cuu Lng river delta, surplus bagasse in sugar plants, residential wastes frm big cities, wastes frm animal husbandry farms, husehlds and ther rganic wastes frm agricultural prduct-frestry-seafd prcessing prcesses.
Slar energy: Vietnam has gd slar energy which can be used fr: (i) Heating water, (ii) Generating electricity and (iii) ther applicatins such as drying, cking…The ttal sunny hurs is ver 2,500 hurs/year, ttal annual slar radiatin is abut 230-250 kcal/cm2. This figure is increasing in the directin tward the suthern regin and this is gd base fr develpment f slar energy technlgies.
Gethermal energy: Accrding t the initial assessment, ptential f gethermal pwer in Vietnam is ver 300MW. The highest ptential is in the Central regin.
At present, use f renewable energy in Vietnam is mainly raw bimass fr husehld cking. In 2010, bimass cnsumptin is abut 13 millin TE.
Apart frm using bimass fr meeting heat demand, ther renewable energy types are used fr electricity generatin. Accrding t the latest data, by 2010, ttal electricity prductin frm renewable energies t the natinal pwer grid is 2,000 millin kWh, accunting fr abut 2% f ttal electricity generated in the whle pwer system.
In cmparisn t ther cuntries in the wrld, the abve results are t small and nt reflecting available ptential. In rder t meet energy demand, there are many issues and challenges which need slving, such as indigenus fssil resurces are exhausting, il price tends t increase and Vietnam will depend mre n energy prices f the wrld…Therefre, cnsideratin and explitatin f renewable energies in the future have imprtant meaning in terms f ecnmy, sciality, energy security and envirnmental prtectin. This issue is paid attentin by the Gvernment in directin and expressin in sme fllwing legal dcuments.
In the cntext that energy demand f Vietnam is increasing, supply resurce are limited (it is anticipated t imprt cal fr electricity prductin frm after 2015) meanwhile there is high demand f electricity and heat and als high ptential f renewable energy resurces, therefre, use f available energy resurces fr prductin f electricity and heat is feasible in terms f technlgy and envirnment. In that cntext, Decisin N.1208 by Prime Minister apprving the Natinal Pwer Develpment Plan fr perid 2011-2020, visin t 2030 (PDP 7) is cnsidered as the legal backgrund fr develpment f renewable energies in Vietnam. The targets fr develpment f wind pwer and bimass pwer are clearly mentined in this Decisin as fllws:
By 2020, capacity f wind pwer will be 1,000MW, bimass pwer is 500MW.
By 2030, capacity f wind pwer will reach 6,200 MW, bimass pwer is 2,000 MW
The fllwing is illustratin f renewable energy types in Vietnam in perid 2011-2030.
