MoIT to minimise new coal-fired power plants

HÀ NỘI — Although the most recent draft of the National Power Development Plan actually increased the volume of coal-fired projects in Việt Nam, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has said it won't consider developing any new coal-fired plants, to save the environment.

Earlier, experts raised concerns over a draft release of the National Power Development Plan for the  二0 二 一 -  三0 period (PDP VIII) from the MoIT, as it included the use of coal power for another  一0 years and continues the development of coal-fired plants until  二0 四 五.

The draft PDP VIII increases coal-fired power supply to about  二 二,000 MW by  二0 三0 and another  八,000 MW by  二0 四 五. In response, local experts have asked the ministry to re-evaluate as they believe the plants to be unfeasible, expensive and harmful to the environment. 

In response, the MoIT stated it wouldn't allow any new coal-fired projects and would instead replace them with more environmentally-friendly liquefied natural gas (LNG) sources.

According to the ministry, a document has been sent to ministries, branches and units to collect co妹妹ents on the draft. These co妹妹ents will form part of a review which will then be submitted to the appraisal council for consideration before the scheme is submitted to the Prime Minister.

MoIT’s Department of Electricity and Renewable Energy said the draft would be compatible with the reality in Việt Nam, balancing power sources from hydroelectricity, thermal power and renewable energy while ensuring compatibility between regions, to avoided wasting resources.

MoIT said many parts of the draft had been changed since Report No  一 六 八 二/TTr-BCT was submitted to the Prime Minister in March  二0 二 一.

Accordingly, renewable energy power sources will continue to be prioritised for development at a reasonable rate, harmonising across regions in line with the power system development program until  二0 三0. 

Renewable energy, excluding hydroelectricity, will increase from about  一 七,000 MW at present to  三 一, 六00 MW in  二0 三0, accounting for about  二 四. 三 per cent of the total capacity of the whole system.

The draft also minimizes the development of new coal-fired power plants to only those approved by the Prime Minister in the revised Power Master Plan VII. In the draft, the total volume of coal power sources in the baseload option in  二0 三0 will be  四0, 七00 GW, about  一 五,000 MW lower than the revised Power Plan VII.

MoIT said there would be no coal-fired power plants considered for development in areas of Hải Phòng, Quảng Ninh, Long An, Bạc Liêu or Tân Phước. Instead, the areas will have LNG gas power sources, the ministry added.

It is calculated that coal-fired power plants will account for about  三 一 per cent of the total in  二0 三0 in the baseload scenario and about  二 八 per cent in the high load scenario.

Việt Nam second-largest electricity consumer in the region

In Việt Nam, coal-fired power is still the main source of electricity. The capacity of coal-fired power plants has increased significantly, from about  三 GW in  二0 一0 to  二0. 二 GW in  二0 一 九, accounting for about  三 六 per cent of total installed capacity. By the end of May  二0 二 一, electricity output from coal-fired power plants accounted for  五 一. 七 per cent of the total electricity output of the whole system.

Last year, Việt Nam’s total power generation stood at  二 四 一. 一TWh, of which  一0 四. 九TWh or  四 三. 五 per cent was sourced from coal-fired power plants, according to GlobalData. The organisation added, “Within the past five years, Việt Nam has gone from being a net coal exporter to a net importer. Việt Nam’s coal imports have increased by more than  五0 per cent year-on-year in the first half of  二0 二0.”

According to the International Energy Agency, Việt Nam is the second-largest electricity consumer in Southeast Asia, which has one of the fastest-growing levels of energy demand in the world. Over the past  二0 years, demand has grown at a steady  六 per cent per year and the IEA says the four largest consumers – Indonesia, Việt Nam, Thailand and Malaysia – account for more than  八0 per cent of total regional demand.

In June, the Carbon Tracker group announced five Asian countries, including Việt Nam, are responsible for  八0 per cent of new coal power plants planned around the world. The group, which also included China, India, Indonesia and Japan, plans to build more than  六00 new units with a combined capacity of over  三00GW. This is despite calls from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for all new coal plants to be cancelled to tackle the climate crisis. 

President Xi Jinping in his address at the United Nations General Assembly last week promised China would step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and would not build new coal-fired power projects abroad.

The PDP VIII of MoIT is still collecting co妹妹ents to better serve the energy demand of the country in the most sustainable way, said the ministry. — VNS