Operating
under the General Department of Logistics, the Hong Ha Shipbuilding Company,
which specializes in building and repairing means of marine transport, has
applied many energy conservation methods. The company has undergone 14 years of
development and become a big business of
Regarding
investment in modern technology, Le Van Thuoc, the company’s deputy director in
charge of technical management, said, “In 2010 the company has put into
operation a zinc galvanizing line and CO2 (carbon dioxide) tanks, which help
reduce energy and manpower consumption. The company’s products therefore have
become firmly positioned in the domestic and international markets.”
Utilizing
solar energy resources
With
support of an audit team, the company has successfully applied many
conservation methods, including the ones that require large amounts of
investment capital.
The company
has more than 1,000 staff members with 90 percent being technical workers doing
mostly outdoor jobs. Therefore the demand for drinking water and hot water at
the company is very high. The leadership of the company said that in 2009 the
company spent more than VND36 million to boil water using coal as the main kind
of fuel.
The company
uses solar energy for water heating and lighting purposes. Solar
energy cannot be used to boil water but it can be used to warm up water. The
company still has to use coal to boil water but fuel consumption has been
reduced considerably because water is warmed up with solar energy before it is
boiled. This solution allows the company to save an estimated more than 16,000
tonnes of coal or about VND21 million each year. This solution requires an
investment sum of VND150 million and it will take the company seven years to
recover the invested amount of money.
Currently,
the company has 100 lamp posts using high-voltage lamps (250W). To save
electricity, the company will build solar charged lamp posts, which will allow
it to save more than 91,000 kWh of electricity or about VND77 million each year.
Renovation
efforts
Apart from
the above two solutions, the Hong Ha Shipbuilding Company has taken some
technical solutions to reduce energy consumption. It has been dynamic in
modernizing technology to improve the competitiveness of products.
The company
has bought 700-tonne hydraulic presses and installed inverters into 20-tonne
cranes. This solution allows the company to save 25 percent of the amount of
electricity that is required to operate the cranes. The company has also
invested several billion dong in installing corrugated iron treatment lines,
air compressors and new power systems in order to minimize power losses. To
ensure effective energy conservation, the company has established an energy
management team. This team is responsible for carrying out regular examinations
to ensure that all equipment systems at the company operate effectively in
order to minimize losses of energy such as electricity, coal, diesel oil (DO),
and industrial gas. With these efforts, the company can save hundreds of
millions of dong each year.
The company
has invested nearly VND200 million in installing inverters into the lifting
engines of rolling cranes. It is estimated that this solution allows the company
to save about VND60 million or 70,000kWh of electricity each year. The Hong Ha
Shipbuilding Company uses a large number of cranes, most of which are old that
consume too much electricity. The installation of inverters into the lifting
engines of cranes to regulate the speed of crane movements allows the company
to minimize power losses during the operation process.
Regarding
lighting systems, previously, the company used mostly lamps of low lighting
efficiency. Lighting systems do not consume too much electricity but also have
the potential for energy conservation.
The audit
team has proposed some solutions to improve the lighting efficiency, for
example replacing 40W tube lamps with T5-28W lamps; replacing high-voltage
lamps (100W) lamps with power saving compact lamps (45W); replacing
high-voltage lamps (250W) with sodium lamps (150W). These solutions can help
the company save about VND28 million each year. Aware of the good effects of these
solutions, the company has replaced all high-voltage lamps with power saving
lamps and installed corrugated iron sheets to utilize sunlight. As a result of
these efforts, the company can save 100,000kWh of electricity or more than
VND90 million each year.
The
aforementioned solutions not only allow the Hong Ha Shipbuilding Company to
save hundreds of millions of dong every year but also reflect its high sense of
responsibility in the field of energy conservation. The company considers
energy conservation a long-term strategy that helps it strengthen its position
and enhance its competitiveness on the market.
By Kieu Nga