On June 23rd 2010, the Ministry of Industry and Trade solemnly organized the ceremony of “Honoring the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Denmark in Vietnam for the cause of Industry and Trade”.

The Prime Minister has approved of the Nuclear power development plan in Vietnam in 2010 – 2030. There are 8 construction sites proposed for building nuclear power plants in 5 provinces, including: Ninh Thuan, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Ha Tinh and Quang Ngai, each capable of installing 4 – 6 units.

2009 statistics from Ministry of Industry and Trade show that Vietnam’s rate of growth in electricity consumption was 2.45 times greater than GDP growth rate. Consumption in industry – construction sector accounted for about 38%, civil 36.8%, transportation 20%, the rest in service and agriculture.

With advantages such as reasonable price, energy efficiency, high luminescence efficiency and high durability, diverse styles, LED (light emitting diode) products are becoming attractive to Vietnamese consumers.

In 2004, the second production line was installed, bringing the total designed capacity to two million square meters per year, in the meantime the company took over the Binh Duong Cotto Brick Factory, a unit under the Xuan Hoa Construction Ceramic Company (also a Viglacera member). Besides, efforts were made to build the Hoanh Bo Brick Factory with an annual capacity of 80 million bricks employing coal gasifier tunnel-kiln technology (the first tunnel-kiln factory in Vietnam using the technology).

The signing of the cooperation contract is part of the 9th meeting of Australia – Vietnam Joint Trade and Economic Cooperation Committee (JTECC), in June in Melbourne, Australia. Mr Vo Hong Phuc, Minister of Planning and Investment and Mr Simon Crean, Australian Minister of Trade, witnessed the signing. According to the agreement, ECT, through a joint venture which produces coal with Coldry clean technology in Australia (VCPL), will export 2 million tons of Coldry coal per year to Vietnam starting in 2014 and 20 million tons per year by 2020.

Energy Efficiency Office - Ministry of Industry and Trade has recently hosted a meeting with Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) on the project "Supporting pilot production of commercial products using high-efficiency LEDs". The project is a part of the activities under Vietnam Energy Efficiency Program to enlarge the market for commercial products using high-efficiency LEDs.

"Also we need to have some kind of social mechanism to watch whether the nuclear community is doing the correct thing or not... mass media for instance," Suzuki said on the sidelines of an international conference on technology and safety in nuclear power plants.

On the morning of June 15, 2010, in coordination with the Energy Conservation Office of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Infrastructure Department and the Urban Development Department of the Ministry of Construction, and the Vietnam Energy Efficient Public Lighting (VEEPL) project, the Vietnam Urban Lighting Association and the Anh sang & Cuoc song (Light & Life) magazine organized a workshop to discuss the role of the media in ensuring efficient use of energy for lighting purposes.

Nuclear power technology is developing and Vietnam must be updated continuously with new technology, especially in the field of waste treatment and material reuse, said Brett Jacobs, the Southeast Asia Programs Manager under the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s Directorate of Global Energy Dialogue, at a meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Huu Hao.

Asia needs to create new business/production models for green and clean development in combination with preservation of natural resources and protection of the environment. The need was addressed at seminars held on June 7, the second workday of the World Economic Forum on East Asia 2010 (WEF on East Asia 2010).

First Solar has contacted Ho Chi Minh City Hi-tech Park, Tan Phu Trung Industrial Park and Phong Phu Industrial Zone to build a factory on an area of 72 hectares. First Solar’s products include the first photovoltaic thin panel battery. However, due to requirement of large area, the High-tech Park will no longer be suitable, therefore, First Solar must find venue in two other locations.

According to the Master plan for Vietnam building material development to 2020, demands for building materials in 2010, 2015, 2020 are correspondingly 25, 32, 42 billion brick equivalent units, in which, the proportions of non-baked material are 10%, 15 – 20% and 30 – 40%, respectively.

Held by The World & Vietnam Magazine (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) in cooperation with the Asia Business Forum (ABF), and European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (Eurocham), the conference is the largest ever on the issue. It is forecast that Vietnam's economy continues to grow rapidly while the population will reach 100 million by 2020. To meet the demand for electricity, Vietnam's power sector must maintain a growth rate of more than 12% annually.

As an agriculture-based country, Vietnam has great potential to develop biogas in the animal husbandry sector. Statistics show that every year, cattle and poultry herds in Vietnam discharge about 73 million tonnes of droppings. Each tonne of muck can cause 0.24 tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent, which means 73 million tonnes of animal droppings will cause 17.52 million tonnes of CO2, seriously polluting the environment.

The Vietnam project ‘Building four-chamber conveyor-type ceramic brick furnaces using rice husk gasification technology’ will be honored the 2009 Energy Globe Award in a ceremony to be held on June 3, 2010 in Rwanda.

The chairman of the National Assembly’s Science, Technology and Environment Committee Prof. and Dr. of Sc. Dang Vu Minh, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dr. Do Huu Hao, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Dr. Le Dinh Tien and the head of the Vietnam Nuclear Energy Institute Dr. Vuong Huu Tan all attended the exhibition.

The draft version of the Law on Energy Efficiency and Conservation has dedicated a chapter to describe the responsibility of industrial production facilities in economical and efficient use of energy. This indicates the essential role of the industrial sector in Vietnam efforts to achieve the national target on energy efficiency and conservation.

Phần mềm giúp tiết kiệm năng lượng của Phạm Ngọc Thắng đã giành giải nhất trong cuộc thi “Ý tưởng xanh” do Tổng cục Môi trường, Bộ GD&ĐT phối hợp với Công ty Toyota Vietnam tổ chức vào cuối tháng 4 vừa qua tại Hà Nội. Với số tiền được tài trợ là 250 triệu đồng để đưa dự án vào thực tế, Thắng hi vọng sau 6 tháng triển khai sẽ có khoảng 4.000 máy tính trên phạm vi cả nước cài đặt phần mềm.

A meeting was held in Hanoi Monday for Vietnamese enterprises and firms from Maryland State, US, to seek trade partnership. The meeting, hosted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, offered an opportunity for local firms to learn about the US technologies and latest applications in the environmental area.