Vietnam is seeking sustainable energy solutions for seafood industry

The energy intensity, or the unit of power needed to produce one unit of GDP, in Vietnam decreased in recent years, but the figure is still 1.4 times higher than Thailand’s and 1.6 times more than Malaysia’s.

In the near future, primary energy sources may not satisfy domestic demand and Vietnam may become dependent on power imports. 

Trinh Quoc Vu from MOIT said Vietnam needs to think of solutions to improve power efficiency and businesses’ competitiveness.

MOIT is compiling a circular on energy consumption norms in the seafood industry, which would be first applied to shrimp and catfish. 

It is expected that in the first phase, in 2019-2025, the power consumption level would be 1,050 kwh per ton for catfish, and 2.050 kwh per ton for shrimp.

The figures would fall to 900 kwh per ton and 1,625 kwh per ton, respectively in 2026-2030.  

Do Kim Cuong, an energy consultant, estimates that the frozen seafood sector consumes about 2 billion kwh of electricity a year, while shrimp and catfish processing 953 million kwh. 

Power has been wasted during production, mostly because of problems in production management, refrigeration system design and equipment operation. 

Electriciry waste still doesn’t matter in the seafood industry, because the industry is still strongly developing and the revenue is high enough to offset waste. However, seafood companies need to think of solutions to cut power consumption to ensure long-term competitiveness and environmental protection.

As for the woodwork industry, Nguyen Quoc Khanh, an energy expert, said power consumption in 2015 accounted for 1 percent of total consumption of the country, and greenhouse gas emissions totaled 1.26 million tons of CO2. 

It is estimated that the demand for power in industry will increase by 8 percent per annum by 2030 and greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent.

Under the scenario of developing sustainable energy for the woodwork industry, there are up to 20 solutions which include the selection of modern technologies and equipment, application of management solutions to cut expenses on electricity, and supervision of the power consumption process.

The solutions aim to curb the increase in power demand at below 7.2 percent per annum, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.6 percent by 2020 and 14.9 percent by 2030. This would be a decrease of 787,000 tons of CO2, or 1.26 percent of the level committed by Vietnam in the Paris Agreement. 

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