US-backed clean energy project launched in Da Nang

By Minh Nga July 1, 2021 | 03:30 am PT

Workers install solar power panels on a rooftop at a local house in Ngu Hanh Son District of Da Nang City in 2020. Photo by Da Nang newspaper.

Da Nang has launched a project with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development to promote urban energy security.

The $14-million program will run through 2023, deploying energy solutions in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.

It seeks to address Vietnam’s rapidly growing energy demand and air pollution by working with city governments and creating opportunities for businesses to deploy advanced distributed energy solutions such as rooftop solar, electric vehicles and waste-to-energy and focus on energy efficiency.

It targets generating at least 40 megawatts of power from advanced distributed energy systems in Da Nang, mobilizing at least $60 million worth of public and private investment for urban energy systems and adopting at least five innovative demonstrated and/or commercialized solutions to address urban energy and environmental issues.

It is part of the Vietnam Urban Energy Security project funded and run by USAID since 2019 before it signed an agreement with Vietnam Electricity (EVN) last December.

"USAID is helping Vietnam transition to a more resilient energy sector, powered by renewable energy," the agency’s director in Vietnam, Ann Marie Yastishock, said at the launch on Wednesday.

"We are excited to work with Da Nang to promote clean energy in the region, provide access to technical expertise, and become a global convening center to help Vietnam realize its goals in renewable energy."

Power demand in Vietnam is growing by 10 percent annually, making it critical for the country to use modern, clean technologies to sustain its rapid economic growth while also protecting human health and the environment.

Vietnam's demand for electricity is likely to rise to 90,000 MW by 2025 and double that by 2030, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has estimated.