Vietnam to push for a greener future

A plan to tackle the risk of power deficiency has caused the country to go for greener measures

VnExpress reports that during a meeting with the state-run Vietnam Electricity (EVN), Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said “the country will not sacrifice the environment for economic growth due to the obvious risks of an energy shortage in the coming years.”

“Although coal-fired power is vital to energy security, but it must be clean”, he added. For a greener effort, environment-friendly coal- and gas-fueled and renewable power plants would be implemented.

Increasing power generation has been difficult as nuclear power has been put on hold and due to high costs and transmission limitations, renewables are currently unable to be developed on a large scale.

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According to the report, another challenge is regional imbalance in power supply and demand. Power is being generated mainly in the north and central region, while the southern region accounts for more than half the demand.

A revised Power Development Plan VII will implement a total of 60,000 MW is expected to be generated by 2020, with coal-fired plants accounting for 42.7 percent followed by hydropower (30.1 percent), gas-fired plants (14.9 percent), and renewables (9.9 percent).