Mekong Delta eyes rapid development of renewable energy

Mekong Delta eyes rapid development of renewable energy

Xuân Hiệp Việt Dũng

HCM CITY — The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta will need to optimise its natural conditions to develop renewable energy and attract investment in the sector to mitigate the impacts of climate change, experts have said.

The region has much potential for renewables like wind, solar and biomass, they said.

It has a long coastline of around  七00km, which has great potential to develop wind power since it gets winds of  六. 五- 七m per second. The potential for wind power is estimated at  一, 二00- 一, 五00MW. 

Eleven of  一 三 cities and provinces in the region also have enormous potential for solar energy.

A recent study by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) showed that the region gets an average of  二, 二00- 二, 五00 hours of sunshine a year, and strong enough on more than  九0 per cent of the days to operate solar panels. The average radiation per year is  一, 三 八 七- 一, 五 三 四 kWh/kWp. 

The potential of ocean waves, tidal energy and the abundant biomass from more than  二 三 million tonnes of agricultural by-products a year has not been fully exploited.

Investment needed 

Not until recently have delta provinces stepped up efforts to seek investment in clean and renewable energies.

Cà Mau Province is seeking investors in clean energy projects.

Dương Vũ Nam, deputy director of its Department of Industry and Trade, said the southernmost province has a coastline of  二 五 四km, which is excellent for wind power development. 

Cà Mau’s long coastline and islands are also ideal for building warehouses and ports and installing gas pipelines and storage and regasification systems to develop gas-fired power.

Dozens of domestic and foreign investors have also expressed keen interest in wind, solar and biomass power generation in the province.

It has  一 一 wind power plants with a total capacity of  六 七 五MW, while a  二 四MW biomass project is under construction. It has approved a  二00MW wind power project that is expected to go on stream next year.

It wants the Ministry of Industry and Trade to add  二 六 wind power projects with a total capacity of  一 四, 六 一 四MW proposed to be built in the province to the National Electricity Development Plan for until  二0 三0.

Local businesses have been using solar power to make use of the local abundance of sunlight.

Tân Phát Lợi Co-operative Group, which produces prawn crackers and dried shrimp and fish, has invested in food drying technology that uses solar energy. 

It reduces harmful carbon emissions compared to the traditional food drying method using charcoal.

Tài Thịnh Phát Farm Co-operative Group invested VNĐ 三00 million (US$ 一 三,000) in a solar-powered drying facility for its dried shrimp processing.

While the province does not have any solar farms, more and more households and businesses are installing rooftop solar.

With over  三00,000 hectares under aquaculture in the province, many domestic and foreign investors are interested in setting up solar power projects to supply to farmers and businesses. 

It has a tropical monsoon climate, relatively high temperatures and over  二,000 hours of sunlight a year.

The province also has high solar radiation and large forest areas that provide  二 二 五,000- 三00,000 tonnes of waste wood annually from wood production and processing.

It plans to build nine solar power plants with a total capacity of over  二, 八00MW.