Vietnam saved about 1.31 billion kWh in 2011 accounting for 1.42 percent of the amount of commercial power and exceeding what was planned for the year, said Electricity of Vietnam (EVN).

Vietnam places top priority on using nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and ensuring its safety and security, says Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Le Dinh Tien.

Scientists and managers from Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) gathered at a training programme on building green growth capacity for Vietnam, in Hanoi on December 12.

The Japanese House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Relations adopted an agreement on cooperating, developing and using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes between Japan and Vietnam on December 2.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of US$309.89 million for a new 750 megawatt (MW) power plant in southern Vietnam, the bank announced in its press release on November 24.

“We are compiling a set of assessment standards for high buildings and urban areas,” said Nguyen Van Tat, vice chairman of the architects association, to the Daily at the seminar on green solutions for project development on Thursday.

PetroVietnam Power Corporation on Saturday officially brought its Nhon Trach Power Plant No. 2 into operation in the southern province of Dong Nai.

Nguyen Thanh Tan, Chief Representative of SN Power Holding Singapore Ltd in Hanoi, a subsidiary of Norwegian Power Group managed by the Norwegian government, said on Dau tu that the company wants to buy big amounts of stakes of state owned and private run hydropower plants in Vietnam.

According to Yanko Yanev, head of IAEA’s Nuclear Knowledge Management program, in order to have qualified human resources, it is necessary for Vietnam to introduce preferential policies for talented people.

Accordingly, the two sides will go ahead with My Ly and Nam Mo hydroelectric power projects in Ky Son district, Nghe An province, and draw up plans for further cooperation and investment in hydropower between Vietnam and Laos.

The first competition for solar-energy fueled toy vehicles in Vietnam opened at the HCM City Hi-Tech Park by the HCM City Department of Science and Technology on October 24.

The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) started construction of the VND33 trillion Mong Duong 1 Thermal Power Plant in the northern province of Quang Ninh on October 22.

Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) on Tuesday signed a credit agreement worth US$1 billion with Export-Import Bank of the U.S. to fund a major wind power development plan in the Mekong Delta in 2011-2015, said Nguyen Viet Cuong, general director of VDB’s Transaction Office 2.

Vietnamese enterprises support the Government’s move to invest in renewable and alternative energy and they accept high energy costs in the short-term to lessen the nation’s dependence on mineral oil and its aim to have a long-term stable price.

The ambassador said that Denmark has many advantages in using energy effectively, particularly recycled and clean energies like solar energy, energy produced from rubbish and biogas.

Modern technologies, adequate Government incentives and reasonable production costs will help facilitate the development of renewable energy in Vietnam.

Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) and Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) inked a contract in Hanoi on Sept. 28 to provide consultancy for the Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plant in Ninh Hai district of the central Ninh Thuan province.

Vietnam and the Netherlands are expected to boost their energy cooperation under a series of agreements which were signed during Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit from September 27 to October 1.

The workshop aimed to raise the awareness of sustainable development of the business community, especially in the energy sector of Vietnam.

The IAEA Director General emphasized that ensuring nuclear safety and security is now the agency’s top priority, especially after the recent Fukushima nuclear incidents in Japan.