According to the project on adjusting the national electricity development planning for the period 2011-2020 with a vision to 2030 (referred to as the adjusted Power Master Plan VII), from now to 2030, the energy sector must meet the demand for electricity consumption for the country's socio-economic development goals with an average GDP growth rate of about 7%/year. Also under this scenario, the commercial electricity demand in 2020, 2025 and 2030 will be 235 billion kWh, 352 billion kWh and 506 billion kWh, respectively.
Innovating technology towards efficiency in energy use and environmental protectionThe growth rate of national electricity demand in the coming periods, although it will decrease significantly compared to the past, is still very high compared to other countries in the world, specifically 10.6%/year (in the period of 2016 - 2020), 8.5%/year (period 2021-2025) and 7.5%/year (period 2026 - 2030). If the total installed capacity of the current system is about 54,000 MW (including renewable energy), it will reach about 60,000 MW by 2020 and is expected to reach 129,500 MW by 2030.
According to experts, in order to achieve the goal of saving 8-10% of total energy consumption compared to the normal development scenario by 2030, in addition to the efforts of central state management agencies, it is very necessary for the participation of local authorities at all levels because this is a decisive factor.
Basic policies, clear goals
Energy plays a special role in the socio-economic development of the country, therefore, in recent years, the Party and State have paid special attention to improving the quality of energy use in the policies for sustainable development of the energy sector in particular and national energy security in general, considering it as a key element in sustainable development and enhancing the country's competitiveness. The goal is to save 8-10% of the energy needed to develop the country under the normal development scenario, equivalent to about 60 million tons of oil. More importantly, it is necessary to raise awareness, responsibility and change behaviors and habits of all agencies, organizations, communities and individuals in efficient use of energy for sustainable development of Vietnam in the future.
In fact, for many years, as an sector management authority, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has implemented many specific solutions, from policy consulting, financial, technical support to information promotion and propaganda and have achieved certain results. Specifically, in the period 2006 - 2015, Vietnam saved about 16 million tons of oil, equivalent to about 103.7 billion kWh of electricity.
Although certain results have been achieved, according to many experts, energy use in Vietnam, for example in the business sector, still has many fields with large energy consumption. Energy costs for many industries/industrial production sectors account for more than 60% of product costs. The reason is that many businesses are using old, outdated, and inefficient machinery and equipment in terms of energy use in addition to limited financial capacity to be able to convert technologies, techniques, replace old and outdated equipment with new, more efficient ones.
In Vietnam, a recent study by the World Bank and the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the possibility of allocating national targets on energy saving to localities in Vietnam shows that 63 provinces/cities directly under the central government can be divided into 7 groups of localities with different energy saving goals based on similar characteristics of energy saving potential, economic structure, population characteristics... On that basis, the Ministry Industry and Trade together with localities determine annual and periodical goals for each province and city, attaching the responsibility of local heads to ensuring the implementation of the agreed goals.
Breakthrough expectations on improving Vietnam's energy use quality through the National Energy Efficiency Programme for the period of 2019 - 2030
On March 13, 2019, the Prime Minister issued the National Energy Efficiency Programme for the period of 2019-2030 in Decision No. 280/QD-TTg. The national program sets out two goals with a focus on improving the quality of energy use in all sectors of Vietnam, creating a premise for Vietnam's energy sector to develop sustainably, stably, and serve effective in socio-economic development, national defense and security. The first goal of the National Program is to save 8-10% of the energy needed to develop the country under the normal development scenario. The second goal is to change the energy use behavior of agencies, organizations, communities and individuals towards efficiency and responsibility.
To achieve the above goals, according to experts, there are 03 fundamental solutions that Vietnam needs to persistently apply:
(i) Integrating the goal of power saving, using energy efficiently into the plan for restructuring the economy. Change the economic structure towards a harmonized, sustainable, and making efforts to eliminate the promotion of economic growth based on energy consumption. It is necessary to review the development needs and structure of energy consumption of each sector, each field in order to shape the national economic structure with little or no development based on energy consumption.
(ii) Integrate the goals of power saving, energy efficiency use in the national technical and technological innovation strategic plan. Technological innovation must be closely associated with the element of efficient use of energy, power saving. Do not import outdated technologies and equipment with high energy consumption and high electricity consumption into Vietnam. Develop a roadmap to replace old technologies, techniques, machinery and equipment with low energy efficiency and low electricity use.
(iii) Integrating the goal of saving electricity, using energy economically and efficiently into the strategy of building and developing Vietnamese culture and people to meet the requirements of sustainable development of the country. Power saving, energy efficiency use must become the civilizing characteristics of the new Vietnamese people. Propaganda, training, and improvement of the awareness of individuals and communities about power saving, efficient use of energy must be closely linked with the development of Vietnamese people in order to build a new society which is responsible for national energy resources, for future generations in conserving energy resources.
Along with the Law on Energy efficiency promulgated in 2010, Resolution 55-NQ/TW dated February 11, 2020 of the Politburo on orientations of Vietnam's national energy development strategy to 2030, with a vision to 2045, Directive No. 20/CT-TTg dated May 7, 2020 of the Prime Minister on enhancing electricity saving in the period of 2020 - 2025, the birth and implementation of the National Program on economical and efficient use of energy in the period of 2019 - 2030 shows the consistent strategic vision and policies of the Party, State and Government of Vietnam in the field of efficient use of energy.
Ha Tran
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