Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has highlighted Vietnam’sposition for clean renewable development, affirming the country is wellpositioned to strongly develop renewable energy and gradually reduce the use offossil fuels.
The PM made the statement during an interview granted to Reuters News Agency onthe occasion of the G7 Outreach Summit in Quebec city, Canada.
Following is the full text of the interview.
Correspondent: Prime Minister Trudeau has invited you to attend theG7 Summit in Canada this June, one of the themes of which is climate change,oceans and clean energy. Since the international investment community sees Vietnam asone of the best growth areas in terms of renewables, please can you tell us howVietnam aims to enable and support thedevelopment of and investment in clean energy and renewables? For example, Vietnam has large rareearth reserves. Could those be used to manufacture batteries that would back upsolar energy production in Vietnam, anddoes Vietnam thereforehave a plan to explore and extract these rare earth reserves?
PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc: Vietnam is blessedwith immense potential for clean renewable energy development. The potentialcapacity of Vietnam’s wind energy is estimated at 500 – 1000 kWh/m2 per year,and its annual average hours of sunshine ranges from 2500 – 3000 at the averagetemperature above 21 Celsius degree. The report released by the German Federal Enterprise forInternational Cooperation (GIZ) in June 2017 estimated the technicalpotential for wind and solar energy in Vietnam at 215,000 MW and 340,000MW,respectively. Furthermore, as a major producer of agricultural products, Vietnamis also rich in biomass. With such immense potential, Vietnam is wellpositioned to strongly develop renewable energy and gradually reduce the use offossil fuels.
Vietnam has been implementing the Strategy of Renewable Energy Development to2030 with vision until 2050. Accordingly, Vietnam engages all social resourcesfor investment in renewable energy development, encourages the development anduse of renewable energy, and strives to raise the share of renewable energy inthe national energy mix.
A number concrete objectives of this Strategy are as follows: (i) reduce GHGemissions, as pledged under the Paris COP21 Agreement, by 5 percent by 2020and, with international assistance and support, by 25 percent by 2030; (ii)further reduce the use of coal and petroleum products by 40 million tonnes and3.7 million tonnes, respectively, by 2030; (iii) increase the electricityoutput produced from renewable sources from approximately 58 billion kWh in2015 to 101 billion kWh by 2020, and 186 billion kWh by 2030; (iv) increase therate of households owning solar energy equipment from 4.3 percent in 2015 toapproximately 12 percent and 26 percent by 2020 and 2030, respectively; (v)increase the biofuel output to meet about 13 percent of the transportationdemand by 2030.
To this end, the Vietnamese Government has put in place incentive mechanismsand policies with regards to land, taxation, pricing, guarantee and public-privatepartnership (PPP) so as to promote investment from within and outside thecountry into the development of renewable energy, including solar powerprojects. According to decisions by the Government, solar power projects (i)are eligible for import duty waiver for a number of items constituting theproject's fixed assets; (ii) may beconsidered for exemption or reduction of land use fees, land rent, watersurface rent (ii) electricity tariff can be adjusted with fluctuations of theVND/USD exchange rate. The Government is considering the possibility ofadjusting the tariff for electricity produced from wind energy in order toencourage investment in the years ahead.
In addition to renewable sources, Vietnam is also blessed with minerals wealth,including rare earth. Vietnam ranks among the top three in the world withestimated reserve of more than 20 million tonnes of rare earth. We wish tocooperate in research and development and transfer of advanced technologies inmining and in-depth processing of rare earth in order to create highvalue-added and environment-friendly products. It is important that we will notpursue economic growth at the expense of the environment.
Correspondent: On the subject of clean energy,how could strategic investment in renewables help Vietnam both offset its falling oil and gasreserves and develop cleaner energyprojection? And is Vietnamlooking to therefore attractmore investment from G7 countries, eitherin renewable energy or more generally? If so, how is Vietnam planning to do this?
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc: TheVietnamese government has put in place mechanisms and policies to encourageinvestors from within and outside of the country to invest and do business inrenewable energy on the basis of harmonising the interests of the state, theinvestors and the community.
Vietnam is enjoying effective cooperation with many countries, including G7members, in the field of renewable energy development. In fact, G7 countriesare implementing major renewable energy projects in Vietnam. I can cite a fewexamples: the Mui Dinh wind power plant (total output 37.6 MW) worth VND 1,272billion, developed by Germany's EAB; Tuy Phong wind power plant (output 30 MW)using German technologies; Phu Lac wind power plant (output 24 MW), usingGerman and Danish technologies and finance.
We stand ready to cooperate with and facilitate all partners in this regard. Itrust that the renewable energy market in Vietnam may offer immenseopportunities for G7 investors, who have strong financial position,technological know-hows and experience, to become strategic partners in thejourney./.
The PM made the statement during an interview granted to Reuters News Agency onthe occasion of the G7 Outreach Summit in Quebec city, Canada.
Following is the full text of the interview.
Correspondent: Prime Minister Trudeau has invited you to attend theG7 Summit in Canada this June, one of the themes of which is climate change,oceans and clean energy. Since the international investment community sees Vietnam asone of the best growth areas in terms of renewables, please can you tell us howVietnam aims to enable and support thedevelopment of and investment in clean energy and renewables? For example, Vietnam has large rareearth reserves. Could those be used to manufacture batteries that would back upsolar energy production in Vietnam, anddoes Vietnam thereforehave a plan to explore and extract these rare earth reserves?
PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc: Vietnam is blessedwith immense potential for clean renewable energy development. The potentialcapacity of Vietnam’s wind energy is estimated at 500 – 1000 kWh/m2 per year,and its annual average hours of sunshine ranges from 2500 – 3000 at the averagetemperature above 21 Celsius degree. The report released by the German Federal Enterprise forInternational Cooperation (GIZ) in June 2017 estimated the technicalpotential for wind and solar energy in Vietnam at 215,000 MW and 340,000MW,respectively. Furthermore, as a major producer of agricultural products, Vietnamis also rich in biomass. With such immense potential, Vietnam is wellpositioned to strongly develop renewable energy and gradually reduce the use offossil fuels.
Vietnam has been implementing the Strategy of Renewable Energy Development to2030 with vision until 2050. Accordingly, Vietnam engages all social resourcesfor investment in renewable energy development, encourages the development anduse of renewable energy, and strives to raise the share of renewable energy inthe national energy mix.
A number concrete objectives of this Strategy are as follows: (i) reduce GHGemissions, as pledged under the Paris COP21 Agreement, by 5 percent by 2020and, with international assistance and support, by 25 percent by 2030; (ii)further reduce the use of coal and petroleum products by 40 million tonnes and3.7 million tonnes, respectively, by 2030; (iii) increase the electricityoutput produced from renewable sources from approximately 58 billion kWh in2015 to 101 billion kWh by 2020, and 186 billion kWh by 2030; (iv) increase therate of households owning solar energy equipment from 4.3 percent in 2015 toapproximately 12 percent and 26 percent by 2020 and 2030, respectively; (v)increase the biofuel output to meet about 13 percent of the transportationdemand by 2030.
To this end, the Vietnamese Government has put in place incentive mechanismsand policies with regards to land, taxation, pricing, guarantee and public-privatepartnership (PPP) so as to promote investment from within and outside thecountry into the development of renewable energy, including solar powerprojects. According to decisions by the Government, solar power projects (i)are eligible for import duty waiver for a number of items constituting theproject's fixed assets; (ii) may beconsidered for exemption or reduction of land use fees, land rent, watersurface rent (ii) electricity tariff can be adjusted with fluctuations of theVND/USD exchange rate. The Government is considering the possibility ofadjusting the tariff for electricity produced from wind energy in order toencourage investment in the years ahead.
In addition to renewable sources, Vietnam is also blessed with minerals wealth,including rare earth. Vietnam ranks among the top three in the world withestimated reserve of more than 20 million tonnes of rare earth. We wish tocooperate in research and development and transfer of advanced technologies inmining and in-depth processing of rare earth in order to create highvalue-added and environment-friendly products. It is important that we will notpursue economic growth at the expense of the environment.
Correspondent: On the subject of clean energy,how could strategic investment in renewables help Vietnam both offset its falling oil and gasreserves and develop cleaner energyprojection? And is Vietnamlooking to therefore attractmore investment from G7 countries, eitherin renewable energy or more generally? If so, how is Vietnam planning to do this?
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc: TheVietnamese government has put in place mechanisms and policies to encourageinvestors from within and outside of the country to invest and do business inrenewable energy on the basis of harmonising the interests of the state, theinvestors and the community.
Vietnam is enjoying effective cooperation with many countries, including G7members, in the field of renewable energy development. In fact, G7 countriesare implementing major renewable energy projects in Vietnam. I can cite a fewexamples: the Mui Dinh wind power plant (total output 37.6 MW) worth VND 1,272billion, developed by Germany's EAB; Tuy Phong wind power plant (output 30 MW)using German technologies; Phu Lac wind power plant (output 24 MW), usingGerman and Danish technologies and finance.
We stand ready to cooperate with and facilitate all partners in this regard. Itrust that the renewable energy market in Vietnam may offer immenseopportunities for G7 investors, who have strong financial position,technological know-hows and experience, to become strategic partners in thejourney./.
VNA