VietNamNet Bridge - Geothermal energy can be economically efficient and environmentally friendly, scientists say.


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The geothermal energy of the Earth's crust originates from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of minerals and solar energy absorbed on the Earth’s surface. 

This kind of energy was exploited and used in the first years of the 20th century for heating and drying agricultural products. The exploitation and use of geothermal energy has been developing rapidly in both scale and performance in recent years. 

Plants generating electricity from geothermal energy have become common in the US, China, France, New Zealand and Japan.

This kind of energy was exploited and used in the first years of the 20th century for heating and drying agricultural products. The exploitation and use of geothermal energy has been developing rapidly in both scale and performance in recent years. 

According to the chair of the Vietnam Clean Energy Association, Ta Van Huong, Vietnam has geothermal potential at the average level. The great advantage of Vietnam is that the energy source is located throughout the country, which means it can be exploited and used in most localities.

Huong stressed that though there are existing challenges in financial and technical capability, Vietnam should think of using of energy.

A senior official from the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MONRE), at a workshop on geothermal energy in Asia-Pacific co-organized by MONRE and the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Hanoi, said that in 2011, the government of Vietnam decided that economic development must be associated with environmental protection. Developing a green economy is the best choice for a future with no environmental disasters and a healthy environment thanks to stable volume of low emissions.

He said Vietnam understands that a green economy helps developing countries gain socio-economic benefits in many fields by developing clean energy, ensuring national energy security and mitigating adverse effects on the environment.

A report found that the energy production sector generates 30 percent of emissions that cause greenhouse effects around the globe. In Vietnam, the figure is higher as 50 percent of electricity generation sources are from coal- and gas-fired plants.

Renewable energy in Vietnam only makes up 6.28 percent of total energy sources and is mostly from small-scale hydropower (80 percent), while 0 percent is from geothermal energy.

In 2016, Vietnam adjusted the 2011-2020 national power development program, deciding that the capacity of renewable power plants must account for 9.9 percent of total electricity output by 2020, 12.5 percent by 2025 and 21 percent by 2030. However, geothermal energy was not mentioned in the adjusted program.


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Kham Pha