New legislation in need for new energy sources
Source: 02-AUG-2008 Intellasia | Vietnamnet
Aug 2, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM Vietnam is facing a power shortfall as hydroelectric generation requires large investment and fossil fuel supplies are becoming exhausted and more expensive. Under such a circumstance, authorities are seeking to direct people toward new power suppliers such as wind power and solar power. However, to ensure a smooth transition to new power sources, the country is in need of a legislation, says Trinh Quang Dung, Chair of Council on Renewable Energy in the Mekong Region. Dung, who is also Head of the Department for Development Solar Electricity of the HCM City Institute of Physics, talks with the Daily on the issue. Excerpts follow.

We have been doing research on using solar electricity for many years but application in reality is moving at a snail's pace. How about the progress now?

We have started research on solar electricity, photovoltaic effects and photovoltaic cells since 1975 with some national-level and institute-level basic researches on the matter. We have succeeded in producing those cells in the middle of the 1990s, which has been recognised by the State as having achieved 80% of the world knowledge about solar electricity.

Then we shifted our research to how to apply them in the real life ten-years ago. The practical use of solar electricity now receives supports from international organisations in countries like France, the US, Germany and Spain where solar electricity has been widely used.

We've used solar electricity since many years ago in remote areas that are not hooked to the national grid, such as a two-kilowatt supplier in a village in the Central Highlands, a 600-watt one for a travel boat in Hoi An, and a solar power system for an ambulance in Dak Lak.

We invented a system of multi-source solar electricity system in 2005 that can work well with other supply sources. It can interact with small-scale hydroelectric plants in mountainous area, with wind-powered electricity facilities in islands, and with power from the national grid in the countryside and cities. The system Madicub as it is named has won an invention prize in Techmart 2005 by the Ministry of Science and Technology, and can be used like an uninterrupted power supply unit, storing power from the national grid for use in case of an outage.

We have received many orders to plant the system from central provinces like Ninh Thuan, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and other provinces nationwide this year.

Is that the high cost of the system that prevents people from using it widely?

We use eight square metres of solar cells worth US$12,000 to have a generation source of one kilowatt. At first sight, it seems to be costly but we can use it for at least 30 years and do not have to pay any sum for electricity bills.

We cannot compare the cost of solar electricity to the cost of electricity from the national grid, for one is invested by single household and the other has been funded by the State and Electricity of Vietnam. In countries where solar cells are popular, the advantage of it is that it produces no carbon dioxide and other polluting gases, which should be accounted into the cost.

In those countries, the governments even ask power companies to buy solar electricity from households that are three to four times more expensive than from other sources. The power purchasing contracts should last for at least 20-25 years, long enough to encourage people to produce more solar electricity for themselves and for selling to the State.

How about the scale of investment in solar electricity in Vietnam now?

Statistics shows that we have invested US$11 million to produce 2 megawatts, while China has reached 150 megawatts and planned to boost it to 600 megawatts by 2010. The largest solar electric supplier in Vietnam is the 28-kilowatt system funded by Sweden-based SIDA for the Cham Island.

How do you comment on the sunlight in Vietnam? Is it strong enough?

We are on top rank in the world in solar energy's abundance. While we need only eight square metres of solar panel to produce one kilowatt, Germany needs a triple area of 24 square metres to produce the same amount.

However, only in the Central and Southern Vietnam that solar panels can work well. The solar energy difference between rainy and sunny seasons in these two regions is only 20%, while the four-seasoned Northern Vietnam shows a 60% difference in solar power between spring-summer and fall-winter periods.

The application of solar electricity needs policies and detailed legislation from the State if the drive is to achieve success.

To make it clear, the State has promised to support 1 million dong for any household buying a solar water heater, but if the State puts it into law, such as in the Construction Law, its application with be more viable. For example, anyone who wants to build a house in the city will have to add a solar water heater to the building before the construction is allowed.

This will also work for solar energy investment in the public. If there are provisions in the Electricity Law regarding development of solar power, the public will be ready to put large money into those projects. For those countries where solar electricity now is popular like Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and China, solar power development has been codified into the law.