The field of industry “gobbles” up to 47% of total energy consumption

Speakers talked at the seminar. Photo: Nguyễn Thanh

Speaking at the seminar of the "Green Energy Solution for the Future" (response activity under the framework of Earth Hour Campaign 2019 hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade), in the afternoon of 12/3, Mr. Trinh Quoc Vu - Deputy Director of Energy Saving and Sustainable Development Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said: Energy consumption in production currently accounts for a very high proportion.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, energy consumption in the industrial sector accounts for more than 47% of total energy consumption. However, Mr. Vu also emphasized, “The technical potential to implement energy savings use in the industrial sector is 20-30%, it could even be up to 40%. If businesses can implement energy-saving solutions, they will make an important contribution to improving the efficiency of using national energy, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnam's economy,”

From an enterprise perspective, Mr. Le Vinh Son - Chairman of Son Ha Group, Ambassador of Earth Hour Campaign 2019, said: Son Ha Group not only produces and supplies to the market products using renewable energy sources such as Thai Duong Nang solar energy water heaters (turning solar energy into heat energy), Septic tanks (producing biogas from household and agricultural waste) ... but also applying measures and production methods for energy-saving... Specifically, the initiatives have been proactively applied by businesses such as applying new technologies with less energy consumption in production stages; rotating production factories to avoid electricity stress during peak hours ... Son Ha Group has reduced energy costs by up to 20%.

“Son Ha Group has nearly 10 large scale factories like Son Ha Factory in Bac Ninh. All street lights and lighting systems in the factory use led lights, and at the same time, the plant also arranged scientific equipment. At first, the plant used a very large machine and the device consumed a lot of electricity. We have replaced with more modern engines which consume less power or use alternatives to high-power devices. Particularly for Son Ha Factory in Bac Ninh, at first, the electricity cost was about 500 million VND/month, so far it reduces by only 300 million VND/month,” Mr. Son said.

Son Ha Group is a unit proactively applying energy saving solutions in their plants. Photo: Nguyễn Thanh

Around the story, the management authorities have already planned in order to encourage businesses to saving energy, Mr. Vu added. Regarding the legal framework for promoting energy efficiency and conservation, especially in the industrial sector, Vietnam has a Law on Energy Efficient Use,that is valid from 2011. Since then, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has gradually strengthened the relevant legal framework.

With key enterprises consuming a lot of energy, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has issued Circular 09/2012/TT-BCT regulating the planning and reporting on the implementation of effective saving energy plans; performing energy audit. These establishments all have to carry out their responsibilities, have an energy management system, and officials in charge of energy management ... Every year, these establishments have to report on the status and efficiency improvement plans on using energy to the local Industry and Trade Department.

“There are 2,497 key nationwide establishments using energy. We are accompanying the Departments of Industry and Trade to inspect, urge and disseminate energy saving solutions and policies for saving energy,” Mr. Vu stressed.

Particularly for the industrial sector, since 2014, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has started to build a circular on energy consumption norms for products, such as beer, paper, plastic and aquatic products ... "the year of 2018 and for the whole year of 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Trade would focus on inspecting and supervising the inspection of implementing circulars on energy use norms," Mr. Vu said.

Besides the energy saving, to reduce the pressure on the power supply, most opinions in the talks emphasized the investment in developing renewable energy sources.

Like Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - Director of the Renewable Energy Center (Institute of Energy - Ministry of Industry and Trade): The potential of renewable energy in Vietnam is relatively large in terms of theory, especially with solar energy and wind power ... However, in terms of current technical conditions or economic potential, it is theoretically lower.

"Renewable energy must grow step by step in levels of development. The first step is preparing, then gaining momentum and finally taking off. Vietnam is at the stage of gaining momentum, while taking off sooner or later depends on many factors such as the Government's support mechanism, the real potential of Vietnam must be good ... ”, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan said.

Moreover, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan analyzed: It should be developed cautiously because renewable energy for electricity generation is a technology that has been known for a long time but is not yet "ripe" in terms of awareness, technology as well as economic factors. If it was massively developed, in the next 10 years it might face a situation of higher development technology, result in decreasing cost and leading to risks.