Hanoi (VNA)– A workshop on renewable energy development to meet rural electrificationtargets and energy access was held in Hanoi on August 21 as part of the VietnamRenewable Energy Week 2018 underway in the country.

The event wasco-organised by the Vietnam Sustainable Energy Alliance (VSEA) and the ClimateChange Working Group (CCWG).

The rural electrificationprogramme for the 2013-2020 period set a target of providing electricity for allhouseholds in the countryside, islands, and remote or mountainous areas by2020, said Dinh Duy Phong from the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority(EREA) at the workshop.

As of 2015, some 40communes (or 70.1 percent) had been connected to national grid, while over165,800 households (accounting for only 17.7 percent) had access to power, henoted.

Although the programmehas had to encounter many challenges, independent and off-grid renewable energyprojects are emerging as economically-efficient solutions widely used by manycommunities, Phong added, mentioning two villages in the Tinh Bien borderdistrict, in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, as some of the first havingall households using solar power.

Assoc. Prof., Dr. LeAnh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Research Institute for Climate Change at CanTho University, said the installation of solar panels in homes is the rightpath of response to climate change, especially given the specific ecologicalconditions in the Mekong Delta.

Developing renewableenergy – such as solar, wind, biomass, tidal, and geothermal power – is suitablefor this region as in the long run, the price of renewable energy is not higherthan that of thermal electricity. Meanwhile, it is costly to develop thermalpower in the Mekong Delta since the price of this power type growsapproximately 2 percent annually, Tuan said.

He added thatrenewable energy may look more expensive in Vietnam but in the future (around2030) its price will stay at the same level as the thermal electricity, not tomention no environmental impacts.

Nguy Thi Khanh –Executive Director of the Green Innovation and Development Centre (GreenID), amember of VSEA – believes that to fulfil the rural-electrification targets, itis not only technical matter but also how to access funding. This remains thebiggest barrier in accessing green technology, which provides green solutionslike solar panels or ways to save power at home.

Welook forward to a helping hand from financial providers or green developmentprogrammes in Vietnam that can support cities and communities in theimplementation, said Khanh.

Shealso unveiled that the GreenID will launch a renewable energy project thatdraws the initial participation of 100 households in Hanoi.

Co-hostedby the VSES and CCWG, the Vietnam Renewable Energy Week 2018 is taking place inHanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho from August 21-26 to create a forum formulti-stakeholders to find solutions for removing obstacles and acceleratingrenewable energy development for all in Vietnam.

It also aims to raise public awareness of the feasibility and benefits ofrenewable energy and call for concrete actions.

Renewableenergy plays an important role in Vietnam’s rural development, helping tocreate greater income for farmers and modernise agricultural production. 

Apart from bringing economic benefits to rural areas, renewable energy is alsoa domestic energy source that can help Vietnam become more proactive in itsenergy supply and reduce its dependence on fluctuations in global oil, coal,and gas prices. 

In 2015, the Prime Minister approved a renewable energydevelopment strategy by 2030 with a vision towards 2050, which targets anincrease in the ratio of power generated from renewable energy to 32 percent by2030 and 43 percent by 2050. –VNA