On June 09, 2020, the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority (EREA) of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH jointly hosted a kick-off workshop of the ‘Climate Protection through Sustainable Bioenergy Markets in Viet Nam (BEM)’ Project in Hanoi. Set to run from 2019 until 2023, BEM aims at improving the preconditions for sustainable use of bioenergy for electricity and heat generation in Viet Nam.
Attending the event were representatives from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Departments of Industry and Trade, Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development from the provincial level, Vietnam Electricity, developers, financial institutions, investors, universities, and further stakeholders from the bioenergy sector in the country. Despite an introduction to the BEM project itself, other topics presented at the workshop were the current context and outlook of bioenergy in Viet Nam, opportunities and challenges for developing a bioenergy power plant in the country and the nation’s needs for bioenergy research.
At the workshop, Mr. Do Duc Quan, EREA’s Deputy Director General, said, “As an agricultural country with a strong potential for bioenergy, the Vietnamese Government is striving to raise biomass share in its power production. Key policies and support mechanisms were promulgated in 2014 and have been amended and supplemented in 2020 to encourage private investment in the sector. With the measures, Viet Nam expects to meet its goal for a biomass energy share of 2.1% in the power production in 2030 stated in the revised Power Development Plan VII.”
Mr. Joerg Rueger, German Embassy’s First Secretary, affirmed: “The BEM project will play a crucial role in supporting the Vietnamese Government in increasing the share of bioenergy within the country’s overall power mix. While wind and especially solar power have already shown their growth potential in Viet Nam, the bioenergy potential remains untapped. Given its specific relevance in the context of climate protection using already existing biomass from e.g. the agricultural sector such as bagasse from sugar production, it represents an important pillar in a sustainable power transition. A growing numbers of bioenergy power plants will support Viet Nam to achieve its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).”
In particular, the BEM project will support the implementation and achievement of the renewable energy targets set out in the revised Power Development Plan VII, the Green Growth Strategy and the Politburo’s Resolution No. 55/NQ-TW on the Orientation of the Viet Nam’s National Energy Development Strategy to 2030, with the vision to 2045.
This goal will be facilitated through the project’s activities; namely, i) the improvement the regulatory framework for biomass energy development, ii) the enhancement the capacity of financial institutions, organizations, private sector companies, and individuals involved in the development, and iii) the fostering technology cooperation, and research and development between international and Vietnamese stakeholders of the bioenergy sector.
The BEM project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), under the implementation of EREA and GIZ.
The project will directly support policymakers and state officials at the central and provincial levels; private sector including biomass energy investors and local consulting companies; financial institutions; research and development institutions and universities, who are working on the utilization of biomass for heat and power production in Viet Nam.
Its indirect and long-term beneficiaries are the electricity and industrial heat consumers, who will enjoy the future sustainable, clean, and cost-effective renewable energy as well as local farmers and workers who can gain economic co-benefits of a stable development of bioenergy (such as additional jobs).
After Hanoi, the next stop of the workshop is Ho Chi Minh City on June 11.
