HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Owners of shrimp-breeding ponds pay 50-200million VND (2,200 – 8,800 USD) for electricity per hectare per crop, accounting for 10 percent oftheir total cost of aquaculture production.

Experts said using clean renewable energy could help theaquaculture sector in Vietnam sustainably develop while at the same timeprotecting the environment.

It could help ease the pressure on the national power gridand reduce CO2 emissions into the environment.

According to the Southern Power Corporation (EVNSPC), thedemand for electricity from the aquaculture industry rose from 7,780MW in 2015to 9,529MW last year but it had difficulty meeting it.

Lack of long-term plans for shrimp and fish breedingsectors and coordination mechanisms between electric power suppliers andenvironment management agencies has also hindered EVNSPC’s power supply to theaquaculture production.

Farmers use electricity provided for lighting to operatemotors/engines and other equipment used in shrimp ponds, causing the powergrids to be overloaded, affecting supply in the region, according to EVNSPC.

According to NhuVan Can of the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment’s Aquaculture Production Department, aquaculture, especially shrimpfarming, requires a lot of electricity.

Shrimp farms need power to operate motors to supply oxygenwithout which the creatures would die.

According to NguyenPhuoc Duc, Deputy General Director of EVNSPC, since shrimp farms in the Mekong Delta and southernprovinces are facing a shortage of electricity, renewables, especially solarenergy, could be used to supply them, reducing their costs and helping promotethe shrimp industry in the region.

EVNSPV has plans to integrate solar panels withengines/motors used in shrimp ponds in provinces where the industry is large.

EVNSPC has also provided technical support to shrimpfarmers, enabling them to use electricity economically, effectively and safely.

"The development of solar and wind energy will helpEVNSPV meet the demand for electricity for aquaculture and promote theindustry," he said.

In 2018 EVNSPV has undertaken a pilot energy-savingproject involving 161 households in the Mekong province of Soc Trang.

The project is helping these households save electricityby 15.2 percent or 658.4 million VND (roughly 29,000 USD) a year.

According to TranViet Ngai, President of the Vietnam Energy Association, a developing country like Vietnamis bound to face power shortages in the coming years.

But since the country has huge solar and wind energypotential, it would be necessary to use renewables to make up the electricityshortfall, he added.- VNA