CMC – Despite huge
potential for renewable energy development, Vietnam has found it hard to
attract investments and expand operational projects due to low electricity
prices and lack of policy incentives.
At a seminar on clean
energy in HCMC, experts were of
the opinion that Vietnam still relies heavily on limited fossil energy sources.
This has prompted the Government to work out plans for renewable
energydevelopment.
The nation may have to
pay a dear price for the environment and the local economy in the future if the
Government fails to change energy policy and find suitable measures to develop
the sector, they said.
Vietnam has many
favorable conditions to develop clean energy sources such as wind, solar power
and gases from landfills, and a number of projects have been deployed in the
sector in recent times.
Sundar Venkataraman,
technical director at General Electric Energy Consulting Co., said Vietnam
has potential for wind powerdevelopment and
that many investors have expressed interest in the industry. Wind farms require
high investments but their operation cost is lower than thermal power plants as
they need no fuel.
According to the U.S.
Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), many U.S. companies are seeking to expand
investments in the energy sector in Vietnam. However, a lack of supporting
policies, difficult capital mobilization and unattractive electricity prices
for green energy are their major concerns.
Gavin Smith,
director of Clean Development Fund at Dragon Capital, said
the Government has not thrown strong support behind renewable energy projects in
the country and the legal framework in this area is still underdeveloped.
The low buying prices
for wind and biomass power prices make it difficult for companies to invest in
projects in this sector.
To make the most of renewable energy potential in Vietnam,
investors want the Government to issue support policy for power prices and
encourage banks to finance renewable energy projects.
Source:
english.thesaigontimes
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