Renewable energy is being considered as an inevitable solution and trend of the energy sector today in the world. As fossil fuel sources such as open oil coal become increasingly depleted, causing severe environmental rancidity, forcing countries around the world to step up the restructuring of the energy sector towards clean and sustainable. Developing renewable energy sources is gradually occupying an important position of sustainable economic development in countries, due to the great benefits in making the most of endless natural resources (such as wind, solar...), as well as contributing to reducing the impact of greenhouse effects and climate change.
According to research by the International Energy Agency (IEA), by 2025, renewable energy will become the main source of electricity production, providing a third of the world's electricity, it is estimated that wind and photometric power capacity will exceed the capacity of gas by 2023 and coal by 2024.
In the EU market
The EU is one of the leading regions in accelerating the restructuring of the energy sector towards building infrastructure to develop clean energy sources. The renewable energy industry in the EU has continuously grown rapidly in recent years, the first 6 months of 2020 grew by 11% over the same period in 2019, contributing to 40% of total electricity output for 27 countries in the region. With a strong determination to shift the direction of the energy sector, the EU aims to increase the proportion of renewable and bio-energy sources by 60% by 2030, and increase offshore wind power capacity by 25 times by 2050, to achieve the goal of neutralizing carbon emissions by 2050. To accelerate the implementation of the "Clean Energy for All Europeans" plan, by the end of 2018, European Union (EU) member states have passed a proposal by the European Commission (EC) for an investment package of 873 million euros for major European projects on clean energy infrastructure, including 17 projects. In particular, 680 million euros were invested in 8 projects in the electricity sector and EUR 193 million for 9 other gas-related projects. These renewable energy projects will strengthen links and enhance the security of energy networks across Europe. Accordingly, EU members will quickly transition to economies with low carbon emissions, health and safety for people and contribute to increasing competitiveness for many industries. The energy union will be one of the EC's top priorities for transforming Europe into a clean, modern and sustainable economy.
In the US market
Deeply aware of the importance of sustainable development associated with ensuring renewable energy sources, to gradually reduce the harmful environmental issues of health from energy plants using fossil fuels, the US Government has invested greatly in the development of infrastructure of renewable energy plants, also manufacturing industries that gradually replace clean energy base engines.
Between 2011 and 2014, California built two of the world's largest solar power plants. It is Topaz Photoefire Farm (capacity of 550 MW) invested about 2.5 billion USD, put into operation in 2014. The second solar power plant, Ivanpah (with a capacity of 392 MW) with a total investment of about US$2.2 billion, was built on an area of about 13km2, in the Mojave Desert, California, which was operated in 2014. In 2019, the United States experienced strong growth in renewable energy production, up 19%, the highest in previous years, producing 720.4 TWh of renewable electricity with sources such as solar power. solar or geothermal energy. Babcock Ranch city in Florida (USA) at the end of 2018 has become one of the most sustainable and environmentally friendly cities in the world. Here, 100% of the electricity used is from renewable energy and applied according to smart grid power technology.
In the "Renewable Energy Outlook" study conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the US is one of the world's largest producers of renewable energy, pioneering the field, which could produce electricity largely from renewable energy by 2050. Most coal-fired power plants and nuclear power plants will be shut down by 2030 but the rest will be operational by 2050. The study suggests that the US can generate 80 percent of its electricity from renewable energy using existing technology, including wind turbines, solar photon power, wind energy, biomedical energy, hydrothermal and hydropower.
The strong development of the renewable energy industry, gradually replacing chemical energy, is taking place in the leading country of the world economy, showing more clearly the importance of economic development to associated with sustainable and safe energy development.
In China market
From a country that relies heavily on fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas, etc.), China attaches great importance to the development of renewable energy sources as a central task in developing the world's leading economy. That is emphasized in the "Made in China 2025" industrial modernization plan, which aims to make China a leading country in the field of renewable energy.
According to the United Nations Environmental Programme on Renewable Energy, in 2004 China invested 3 billion USD in the sector, but by 2015 it had increased to 103 billion USD, surpassing the US by 44.1 billion USD, and accounting for about 36 percent of the world's investment. In the summary of the 5-year plan from 2016-2020, total Chinese investment in this industry has reached more than 360 billion USD, the workforce working in the renewable energy sector alone currently has about 3.5 million people, the largest compared to other countries in the world.
According to China's National Energy Administration (NEA), it is expected that by 2021, total electricity output from solar and wind power plants will reach 11% of the country's total electricity consumption, higher than 2020 (9.7%), the target will reach 16.5% in 2025. The Chinese government has vowed to increase the share of renewable fuels in primary energy consumption to around 25% by 2030. This is considered the main goal of China's commitment to cut carbon emissions by 2030 and is part of a comprehensive national energy reform program that aims to gradually cut down on polluting fossil fuel plants.
In the last few years, the renewable energy industry has received great attention from the government, is the main goal of the development and expansion of the country's influence around the world, so in this industry, there is transformation and rapid development. Only from 2018 until now, solar power capacity has increased 700 times, wind power capacity has increased 22 times, the industry's exports to other countries are increasing (mainly solar panels). This is the motivation for the total global solar and wind capacity increase 33 times since 2018.
Currently, as a leading country in renewable energy output, China has taken its position of influence to a new level, impacting both the industry that depends heavily on energy sources, as well as trade, and the country's economy. It is also seen as a "key weapon" to change trade relations with other countries, as well as to form new alliances that benefit the country both economically and politically.
In Vietnam market
According to experts, Vietnam is a country that converges geographical and climatic features ideal for the production of renewable energy. With a geographical location with a long sea route, the weather of the tropics receives a relatively large amount of solar heat…, this is one of the great potentials for Vietnam to build and develop a renewable energy industry such as solar power plants and wind power plants. This has great significance in the future development orientation of Vietnam's economy, as well as energy security. Renewable energy development is still an energy race of countries around the world, creating a competitive position in the region and the world. This shows that Vietnam cannot be late in this field, effectively exploiting the potential of renewable energy development to create competitiveness for the whole economy.
Realizing the leading importance of the renewable energy industry, over the past time, the Government has issued many mechanisms and policies to encourage the development of renewable energy sources. The Ministry of Industry and Trade also issued Decision 2023/QD-BCT dated July 5th, 2019 approving the " Promotion program for the development of rooftop solar power in Vietnam in the 2019 – 2025 period " and many guiding circulars and implementation plans. At the same time, developing renewable energy sources in parallel with enhancing the efficiency of electricity use in daily life as well as production to reduce costs and negative impacts on the environment and people's health.
Accumulated in the first 6 months of 2021, the electricity production and import of the whole system reached 128.51 billion kWh, up 7.4% over the same period in 2020; In which, renewable energy (including wind power, solar power, biomass power) mobilized 14.69 billion kWh, accounting for 11.4% of total output.
Figure 1: Structure of the electricity sector
The proportion of mobilized output of some main types of power sources to the total electricity output of the whole system is as follows:
+ Mobilized hydropower reached 30.46 billion kWh, accounting for 23.7%.
+ Mobilized coal-fired power reached 66.67 billion kWh, accounting for 51.9%.
+ Mobilized gas turbines reached 15.66 billion kWh, accounting for 12.2%.
+ Renewable energy (wind power, solar power, biomass power) mobilized reached 14.69 billion kWh, accounting for 11.4%.
+ Imported electricity reached 624 million kWh, accounting for 0.5%.
+ Oil-fired thermal power mobilized is insignificant, reaching 02 million kWh.
Potential for the development of renewable energy industry in Vietnam
According to the report of the World Bank (WB), Vietnam is one of the top 14 countries in the world in terms of hydropower potential. Currently, Vietnam has over 120,000 hydroelectric power stations, with an estimated total capacity of about 300MW. With the advantage of a long sea route along the length of the country, Vietnam has a lot of potentials to exploit wind energy, the total potential is estimated at 513,360 MW. The areas that are being exploited for wind power and have a lot of potential are mainly concentrated in the Central Coast, the South, and the Central Highlands such as: Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Bac Lieu,... and islands.
With its geographical location located in the sub-equatorial region, Vietnam has a lot of potentials to take advantage of solar energy, with a total number of high sunshine hours of over 2,500 hours/year, the average annual total radiation is about 230-250 kcal/cm2/day, increasing gradually to the south. This is an advantage for Vietnam to exploit this renewable energy source, to serve the needs of production and people's daily life. Currently, more and more households are realizing many benefits from using solar panel equipment to use for daily needs, helping to save a lot of money for the family.
With the explosive development of the renewable energy industry in developed countries around the world, there are more and more investors with large capital and holding technology, processes and techniques for operating renewable energy plants. This is also a potential for Vietnam, to attract big players in this industry to invest in developing renewable energy, which is still weak in our country.
Orientation
Aware of the importance of renewable energy, our Party and State have shown interest in developing renewable energy throughout since the Resolution of the 9th National Congress of the Party in 2001. The Prime Minister issued Decision No. 2068/QD-TTg dated November 25th, 2015 approving Vietnam's Renewable Energy Development Strategy to 2030, with a Vision to 2050 and Decision No. 428/QD-TTg on March 18th, 2016 approving the adjustment of the National Power Development Plan for the period 2011-2020, with a vision to 2030 and incentive mechanisms and policies on renewable energy.
Specifically, the mechanism to encourage the development of renewable energy: Regulations on responsibilities for purchasing electricity and prioritizing capacity mobilization from renewable energy sources: The electricity buyer is responsible for purchasing all electricity produced from renewable energy sources. Power plants from renewable energy sources are given priority to exploit their full capacity and generate electricity by the fuel supply regime of the plant area. This regulation aims to protect the interests of investors, ensuring that they will be able to generate maximum capacity and sell all electricity produced from renewable energy sources.
Power price support mechanism: Electricity produced from small hydropower sources, wind energy, biomass energy, and solid waste is purchased at a higher price than the purchase price of electricity from traditional energy sources (large hydropower, fossil fuel). Other incentive mechanisms and policies: In addition to the above incentives, renewable energy projects are also entitled to subsidies for project products under the clean development mechanism (CDM), preferential loans, loan term, incentives on corporate income tax, import and export tax, land use tax, land lease, water surface rent, environmental protection tax exemption... in accordance with regulations on tax incentives.
In the context of combating climate change and developing a "green economy" that is a top priority for many countries around the world, renewable energy is increasingly being focused on. Vietnam needs to grow faster, both creating a competitive position in the "green economy" period, and also a key point to achieve the country's goal of "sustainable development", and improve the environment and climate to protect people's health in the long run.
Pham Kim Oanh
Industry and Trade Research Review - VIOIT