As hydropower reaches its maximum capacity,
the renewable energy sector remains immature and nuclear power seems out of
reach. Thermal power will be the mainstay of Viet Nam's electricity supply over
the next two decades and possibly longer, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung
said in a message to the power industry during a recent event, the government's
online news portal reported. Dung's statement came as a confirmation of Viet
Nam's continued reliance on coal-fired power to keep up with its growth demand,
which will pose a number of challenges to mitigating the power sector's
environmental impacts while increasing the country's dependence on coal
imports. "Thermal energy, especially coal-fired and gas-fired power, will
remain our main source of electricity until 2030, and possibly even
longer," Dung said at the 10th anniversary of the PetroVietnam Power
Corporation (PV Power), the second-largest electricity producer in Viet Nam,
after EVN. PV Power, a member of the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group (PVN),
contributes over 10 percent of the country's power output with a number of
hydropower and thermal power plants scattered throughout central and southern
provinces. It has been tasked by the government to develop at least eight more
thermal power projects in the coming years. Viet Nam's energy demand is
expected to grow 13 percent annually over the next four years. Energy sources
such as hydropower have reached their maximum capacity while the renewable
energy sector remains in its infancy and nuclear power's steep price tag is too
high for a country which public debt is approaching 65 percent. Coal-fired
power, despite its environmental impacts, is still the dominant power source
for Viet Nam. By 2030, over half of the country’s power will come from coal,
adding 55,300MW to the national grid with 83 plants across the country,
according to the revised government Power Development Master Plan VII. Historically,
the country has been self-sufficient in coal, but this has changed. More than USD400
million was spent during the first quarter of this year on importing coal,
based on recently published figures from the Viet Nam Industry and Trade
Information Center (VITIC). Australia remained the largest supplier with nearly
1.3 million tons worth USD157.2 million shipped in the first three months of
2017, up 11.6 percent and 136.8 percent respectively on-year. It was followed
by Indonesia with nearly 1.1 million tons worth USD77.2 million, up 127 percent
and 260 percent. Another combined 800,000 tons of coal was also imported from
Russia, China and Malaysia. The development of coal-based power poses a
challenge for the country's leaders who have repeatedly echoed the message of
not sacrificing the environment for economic development in recent years. In
response to concerns over emissions from coal-fired plants, Nguyen Tai Anh,
deputy general director of EVN, said in a recent meeting that they will be
minimized with the application of modern technology. He added that all
coal-fired thermal power plants under the management of EVN have treatment
facilities for waste gas, water and solid waste in accordance with regulations.
"In the case of old coal plants, EVN has reviewed and planned upgrades for
their emission treatment systems, which are expected to be completed in
2018-2019," he said. In addition to the environmental effects of
coal-fired power, the industry needs to deal with the threat of local power
shortages due to an imbalance between supply and demand across different
regions. According to Deputy PM Dung, while 50 percent of the total electricity
demand comes from the South (40 percent from the North and 10 percent from the
Central region), current power supplies are concentrated mainly in the North
with over 50 percent, while the southern region only produces about 40 percent.
"The threat of power shortages in the southern region next year is real if
new power plants are not completed on time, and this is a very daunting
task," Dung warned. Energy experts have been highlighting the need to
diversify energy sources and switch to renewable energy. However, in comparison
to traditional energy sources such as oil and coal, renewable energy is still
relatively new in Viet Nam. Its presence is strongly driven by government
policies, and is mostly positioned within sustainable development and
greenhouse gas reduction frameworks. High installation costs and relatively low
power prices have been discouraging investors from entering Viet Nam’s wind
energy market. The current buying price at 7.8 U.S. cents/kWh is well below
that in other Asian countries, such as 20 cents in Thailand, 29 cents in the
Philippines and 30 cents in Japan. In a long-awaited decision last month, PM
Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved a tariff of 9.35 cents per kWh for the purchase of
electricity from grid-connected solar power plants in a new directive that will
take effect between June 1, 2017 and June 30, 2019. This is higher than the
tariff applied to onshore wind power projects of 7.8 cents per kWh. "It
was an important decision, though it remains to be seen if the increase is
enough to motivate investors," said Tran Dinh Long, deputy director of the
Viet Nam Electricity Association. While some investors say solar power prices
should be set at 10 cents per kWh or higher to ensure profits, they could still
make a profit at the new price, partly because solar power generation costs
have been on decline in recent years.
E.vnexpress.net
– May 18 - http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnam-faces-shaky-energy-future-as-coal-fired-power-remains-dominant-3586739.html
Viet Nam faces shaky energy future as coal-fired power remains dominant
Posted by Focus on Arts and Ecology on
- -
Posted in
Energy
Đăng nhận xét