In the adjusted plan, thermal power will account for more than 50 per cent of the total capacity, said Nguyen Thu Trang, coordinator at the VSEA.

Trang said more than 85 million tonnes of coal would be imported for use at 52 thermal power plants by 2030, an increase from the 12 existing plants.

“Why does the country put energy security in the import of coal when there are many sources with high potential of power?” she asked.

Though the price of power from thermal plants is still cheaper than power from renewable energy sources, the costs do not include the price paid by the environment, health and carbon tariffs.

The government should more precisely calculate the costs to “create a fair environment” for investors who want to pour money into power projects using renewable energy sources.

According to Vietnam Energy Online, under the national plan outlined by the government, the total capacity of hydropower projects would be 21,600 megawatts by 2020 and 27,800MW by 2030, increasing from 17,000MW now.

The total capacity of wind-power projects would be raised from 140MW to 800MW by 2020 and 6,000MW by 2030. As for solar-power projects, the capacity would rise from 850MW to 4,000MW by 2020 and 12,000MW by 2030.

Other speakers at the meeting noted that Vietnam was the world’s third-largest builder of coal-fired power plants, at a time when the world is switching to renewable sources of energy.

Emissions from coal-fired thermal energy can spread hundreds of kilometres, causing serious health issues, such as chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer and stroke. It can also affect soil and crops.

Moreover, the burning of coal emits wastes such as toxic metals, ozone and fine particulates, which, in contact with sunlight, can create smog, according to a report from the Green Innovation and Development Centre last year.

In addition, coal-fired thermal energy has led to 4,300 premature deaths in Vietnam each year, a Harvard University report has said.

Ma Khai Hien, deputy head of the Energy Conservation Research and Development Centre, said there were many challenges to develop power from renewable energy sources.

Although the government has policies to support the development of renewable energy, investors have yet to access them, Hien said.

The low cost of buying power from these sources is one of the barriers for enterprises to invest, he added.

As electricity prices are expected to continue to increase worldwide by 2023, this is an opportunity to step up investment in renewable energy, Hien said. – Viet Nam News

That compares with 106GW in 2014 and 87GW in 2013.

The report “Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016” showed that coal and gas-fired electricity generation last year drew less than half the record investment made in solar, wind and other renewables (including biofuels, geothermal, marine and small hydro) capacity.

The 10th edition of the UN Environment Programme’s annual publication also showed that the annual global investment in new renewables capacity, at US$266 billion (Bt9.3 trillion), was more than double the estimated $130 billion invested in coal and gas power stations in 2015.

All investments in renewables, including early-stage technology and research and development as well as spending on new capacity, totalled $286 billion in 2015, some 3 per cent higher than the previous record in 2011.

Since 2004, the world has invested $2.3 trillion in renewable energy (unadjusted for inflation).

Developing world investments in renewables topped those of developed nations for the first time in 2015, led by China and India. Investments by the developing world totalled $156 billion, against $130 billion by developed countries.

Were it not for renewables, excluding large hydro, annual global CO2 emissions would have been an estimated 1.5 gigatonnes higher in 2015.

Despite increasing investment, renewables still accounted for only 16.2 per cent of the world’s total installed power capacity last year, against 15.2 per cent in 2014.

“Despite the ambitious signals from COP21 in Paris and the growing capacity of new installed renewable energy, there is still a long way to go,” said Prof Udo Steffens, president of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, which co-produced the report.

“Coal-fired power stations and other conventional power plants have long lifetimes. Without further policy interventions, climate-altering emissions of carbon dioxide will increase for at least another decade.”

The recent big fall in coal, oil and gas prices makes conventional electricity generation more attractive, Steffens added. “However, the commitments made by all nations at the Paris climate summit in December, echoing statements from last year’s G7 summit, require a very low- or no-carbon electricity system.”