[Maki Superbia]

What would be the most effective energy production process for a more sustainable future in Vietnam?

AUTHOR: Maki Superbia

 

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BBCODE: Claretta

Electricity is an essentiality of modern society because arguably without it, modern civilization will collapse. However, the majority of electricity around the world is produced from fossil fuel (Demirel 35-71). There is a strong correlation between the burning of fossil fuels to the release of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes global warming (Clark). Man-made global warming is an accepted model in all scientific institution (Clark) and most government recognises the needs to limit Earth’s temperature rise as much as possible (Clark).

In 2013, Vietnam consumed over 133.4 billion kWh of electricity nationally, with 3.5 billion kWh imported from China ("Energy In Vietnam"). This in itself is an indication that Vietnam has not reached a self-sustaining level yet. However, Vietnam is pioneering in the use of clean energy, with 40% of its energy production coming from hydroelectricity, 33% from gas turbine, 22% from coal, with the rest coming from petroleum and imports ("Energy In Vietnam"). Table 1.1 shows the overall energy production in Vietnam:

Energy in Vietnam
Year	Capital	Primary Energy	Production	Export	Electricity	CO2 Emission
	Million	TWh	TWh	TWh	TWh	Mt
2004	82.2	584	759	167	41	79
2007	85.1	649	860	232	62	94
2008	86.2	691	830	124	69	103
2009	87.3	745	891	161	79	114
2012	87.8				94	137
2012R	–88.77	754	806	75	113	143
2013	89.71	697	806	72	117	130
Change 2004-09	6.2%	27.5%	17.4%	–3.6%	92%	45%
Mtoe = 11.63 TWh, Primary energy includes energy losses 2012R = CO2 calculation criteria changed, numbers updated

Table 1.1: Energy production in Vietnam

Despite the extensive use of renewable resources in its energy production, Vietnam still experiences a 45% increases in the emission of carbon dioxide. Nitrogen dioxide is 1.3 times more than the permitted level in Hanoi and 1.2 times in Ha Long Bay (Pham).This is due to Vietnam’s heavy reliance on petroleum and coal still as one of its primary energy sources ("Energy In Vietnam"). This begs the question this essay seeks to answer: What would be the most effective energy production process for a more sustainable future in Vietnam?


Firstly, it is important to appreciate that Vietnam receives a lot of benefits from hydroelectricity, especially when the country itself is suffering from severe air pollution problem (Pham). Figure 1 below illustrates how hydroelectricity works:

Fig.1: (Hydroelectricity Diagram)

Hydroelectric plants convert kinetic energy of falling water into electrical energy ("Hydropower Technology"). The kinetic energy of water can occur naturally such as in waterfall, or human-induced, such as dam-building ("Hydropower Technology") As water falls down, it spins a turbine to turn on a generator, which in turns created electricity that can be transmitted for consumption ("Hydropower Technology"). Vietnam began a hydroelectric production project known as Truong Son and within 5 years of its implementation, the Vietnamese government, alongside with heavy subsidies for electrical company, has been able to provide electricity for 99% of the Vietnamese population (Roome). The project saves Vietnam an estimate cost of USD$40 milllion and reduces 1 million tons of carbon dioxide emitted per year (Roome). According to the list of power stations in Vietnam, there are 3 coals plantation and 1 gas turbine, as oppose to 32 (and more) hydroelectric plantation. The plantation with the highest capacity is the Ham Thuan – Da Mi hydroelectric power stations. According to Wikipedia, the Ham Thuan power station has a capacity of 300 MW, while the Da Mi station has a capacity of 175 MW. Efficiency can be as high as 95%, given that power output is above 200 MV ("Hydroelectric Power").


However, pollution in Vietnam is amongst the worst in the world ("Environmental Issues In Vietnam"). This may be because of the lasting repercussions of the Vietnam War and the economic reforms that started in 1986, which leads to deforestation, land degradation, loss of biodiversity, water pollution, air pollution and ineffective solid waste management ("Environmental Issues In Vietnam"). Rapid economic development also means that more vehicles, mainly motorbikes and cars, are put on the street ("Environmental Issues In Vietnam"). These vehicles burn petroleum as a fuel, which releases 〖NO〗_x gases, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, which perhaps contribute more to the country’s pollution problems than the process of energy production itself ("Environmental Issues In Vietnam").


However, hydroelectric dams are devastating for people in rural Vietnam. This is because agriculture soil and forests are being cleared in order to build the dam (Ho). The construction of the dam often does not take into account the livelihood of the local inhabitants, so the people either have to relocate or stay and risk enduring the flood (Ho). The privatization of hydroelectric power plant is happening too slowly so the government themselves cannot control the negative social impact of these dams either (Ho). In Vietnam, most hydroelectric dams are owned by the loss-making monopoly EVN, so they resist safety regulations that can potentially increase their production cost (Ho). Electricity is cheap in Vietnam, thus this is the compromise the government has to make to keep the price affordable for people with different socio-economic background (Ho). This is extremely troubling because in order to produce the amount of electricity needs more consumption in Vietnam right now, hydroelectric companies make their reservoir as full as possible; however, when do so, local people are put in danger because safety regulations are not strictly enforced in the first place (Ho).


Figure 2 below shows the level of carbon dioxide emission in Vietnam. As we can see, there is an exponential increase in the level of emission from the 1990s onwards and it only drops slightly from 2011, corresponding to the time frame from when economic reforms began in Vietnam to when the Truong Son project, the hydroelectrically sustainable energy production project, is launched.

Fig. 2: Carbon dioxide emission in Vietnam from 1960 to 2013

However, figure 3, which show the amount of carbon dioxide released by the consumption of fossil fuels, show a different story. According to the graph itself, the level of carbon dioxide released has actually plummeted after peaking in 1975.

Fig. 3: Carbon dioxide emission in Vietnam by fossil fuel consumption from 1960 to 2013

Vietnam itself is completely self-sustaining due to its reliable and large scale hydroelectricity production. The country takes full advantage of its water reservoirs to produce clean energy, almost free from carbon dioxide. However, the country itself pays quite a high price to set up these production chains, so it is having a hard time recovering from the damaging impacts. Deforestation means that the country is more susceptible to flooding during rainy season and droughts during dry season. Due to the effect of global warming, flooding and drought seems to also be intensifying in Vietnam as well ("Global Warming Is Already Affecting Weather”).

Vietnam will be the country that is hit the hardest by climate change ("CO₂ Emissions In Vietnam At Alarming Rate"). In this country, the agricultural sector is the main contributor to carbon emission, following by the energy sector since at least 27% energy production in Vietnam is from fossil fuel ("CO₂ Emissions In Vietnam At Alarming Rate"). One of the main ways to make Vietnam a sustainable country with renewable yet reliable energy resource is to slowly decrease their reliance on fossil fuel alongside hydroelectricity. It is intuitive to think that the decrease in fossil fuel consumption would lead to a decrease in the amount of greenhouse gas released into the air. There would be still greenhouse gases released in the atmosphere because consumption would only be cut, not stopped. The atmosphere would have the chance to recover from ozone depletion and the Earth would effectively become “greener” and the rise in global warming would be halted (Elliott).

In conclusion, there is no doubt that Vietnam, alongside with many other countries in the world, will not be able to decrease its reliance on fossil fuel completely because the very crux of its modern society is built upon the consumption of fossil fuel. Hydroelectric power production, despite its social ramification, is overall still a good energy production method in the context of global warming because it helps decrease the emission of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel alone. In order to compensate for the disadvantaged individuals, the government can assist them in relocation.

REFERENCE

1. Clark, Duncan. "Why Can't We Quit Fossil Fuels?". The Guardian. N.p., 2013. Web. 2 Apr. 2017.
2. "CO₂ Emissions In Vietnam At Alarming Rate". Eco Business. N.p., 2011. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
3. Cohen, Josh. "New Maps Show World’S Cities Disappearing Under Water". Next city. N.p., 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2017.
4. Demirel, Y. Energy Production, Conversion, Storage, Conservation, And Coupling. 1st ed. 2016. Print.
5. "Earth Temperature Tracker". Earth Observatory. N.p., 2017. Web. 2 Apr. 2017.
6. "Electricity Generation From Fossil Fuels". Electropaedia. N.p., 2005. Web. 2 Apr. 2017.
7. Elliott, Larry. "Can The World Economy Survive Without Fossil Fuels?". The Guardian. N.p., 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2017.
8. "Energy In Japan". Wikipedia. N.p., 2017. Web. 2 Apr. 2017.
9. "Energy In Vietnam". Wikipedia. N.p., 2017. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
10. "Environmental Issues In Vietnam". Wikipedia. N.p., 2017. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
11. "Global Warming FAQ". New Mexico Solar Energy Association. Web. 2 Apr. 2017.
12. "Global Warming Is Already Affecting Weather". Climate Communication. N.p., 2017. Web. 2 Apr. 2017.
13. "Hà m ThuẬn – Đa Mi Hydroelectric Power Stations". Wikipedia. N.p., 2017. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
14. Ho,. "Full To Bursting". The Economist. N.p., 2015. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
15. "Hydroelectric Power". Electropaedia. N.p., 2005. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
16. "Hydroelectricity". Teach Nuclear. N.p., 2017. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
17. Hydroelectricity Diagram. 2017. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
18. "Hydropower Technology". Renewable energy world. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
19. "List Of Power Stations In Vietnam". Wikipedia. N.p., 2017. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
20. MacMillan, Amanda. "Global Warming 101". NRDC. N.p., 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 2017.
21. Pham, Huong. "Air Pollution In Vietnam Cities Hit Unhealthy Levels: Government Study". VnExpress. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
22. Roome, John. "Hydropower In Vietnam: The Right Way To Do It". World Bank Group. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
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24. "Vietnam To Import Power From Laos To Ease Shortage: Report". VnExpress. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.

Please don't bring the works out of VnSharing, and give credits whenever you use them.

[sildi07]

Just like the other one that I commented, this is a well-structured essay~

Wow, I'm just impressed that you actually code the table for data of energy production and make a list style for all the references. O.O +10 Bonus for the effort <3

In conclusion, there is no doubt that Vietnam, alongside with many other countries in the world, will not be able to decrease our reliance on fossil fuel completely because the very crux of our modern society is built upon the consumption of fossil fuel, before we even puts investments into other energy resources.

-> This bold part is rather redundant to include in this sentence since (1) it makes the sentence a little too long (2) i'm not sure which part of the sentence it supports, so it's a bit confusing (3) you change the subject from Vietnam to we...(even more confusing)
-> My suggestion is to split that sentence into small simple ones or rewrite and try to incorporate it somehow :'>

[Maki Superbia]

Just like the other one that I commented, this is a well-structured essay~

Wow, I'm just impressed that you actually code the table for data of energy production and make a list style for all the references. O.O +10 Bonus for the effort <3


-> This bold part is rather redundant to include in this sentence since (1) it makes the sentence a little too long (2) i'm not sure which part of the sentence it supports, so it's a bit confusing (3) you change the subject from Vietnam to we...(even more confusing)
-> My suggestion is to split that sentence into small simple ones or rewrite and try to incorporate it somehow :'>

Thank you so much for your recommendation as you can tell by now sometimes I tend to get lost whilst constructing sentences haha so my sentences become more long-wind than expected. I have made the appropriate changes according to your suggestion