Early on the morning of January 14^th 2016, General Department of Energy (GDE) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in cooperation with United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) organized the inception workshop “Promotion of Energy Efficiency Industrial Boiler Adoption and Operating Practices in Vietnam”.

The workshop attendants included Mr. Do Duc Quan, Deputy Director General of the General Directorate of Energy, Ministry of Industry and Trade; Mr. Patrick J. Gilabert, UNIDO Country Office Representative in Vietnam; Mr. Sanjaya Shrestha, UNIDO Project Manager from UNIDO Headquarters in Austria; experts in the energy conservation field and various representatives from a range of manufacturing and business associations.

Mr. Do Duc Quan, Deputy Director General of the General Directorate of Energy, Ministry of Industry and Trade, asserted that according to the International Energy Agency’s prediction, with today’s energy exploitation rates, the world’s coal reserves will run out, oil and gas reservoirs will be depleted within 40 to 60 years by the end of the century.

Vietnam has been confronted the energy shortage due the fluctuating oil price in the international market, unstable hydroelectric power supply caused by weather and resource depletion as a result of the inefficiency in fossil fuel use. As shown by the data for energy balances, Vietnam will likely to transform to an energy importer after 2015.

At the workshop, the representatives presented the project-related matters such as practices, performance schedules, monitoring and evaluating plans, implementation and responsibilities of each party. Additionally, the representatives also assessed the current situation of applying commercial boilers as well as the boiler manufacturing technology in Vietnam, evaluated the capital to invest in the energy efficiency projects and provide technical support if necessary.

Bui Thanh Hung, Manager of Back Khoa Energy Conservation Joint Stock Company, gave his own opinions about the national policies which encourages the economical and efficient use of commercial boilers. For examples, he brought out the standards and the regulations of boilers; regulations under the Law on Economical and Efficient Use of Energy; policies on improving capability and assessment of boiler effectiveness and vapor system. Along with that, Mr. Hung pointed out the policy’s shortages namely a lack of technical guidance for industrial manufacturers and businesses to adhere the energy output requirements as well as the absence of the energy savings boilers certifying process.

With the purpose of reducing the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission through promoting the adoption of commercial boilers, the project will be carried out over 4 year period, starting from November 2015 to October 2019.

Below are more detailed images from the workshop:

   Thanh Thao