HCM CITY  —  Renewable energy usage is becoming more common among households in the southern coastal province of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu.

Solar energy, which has been used by families living in floating villages or rural areas not connected with the national grid, is now being used by households in urban areas.

With a large number of households using both electric power from the national grid and solar energy, Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu is among the localities in the country with a high potential for renewable energy usage.

The family of Bùi Bộ, a resident in Bà Rịa Town, invested VNĐ70 million (more than US$3,100) to install a solar battery storage system that generates 11-17kWh of power per day.

The system supplies power for Bộ’s home lighting system and kitchen, including two freezers, one refrigerator, and electric fans.

The new solar battery storage system has helped Bộ cut his electricity bill from VNĐ900,000 to VNĐ300,000 per month.

Nguyễn Phan Sâm, a resident in Vũng Tàu City, has also cut his electricity bill by 50 per cent since a solar battery system which generates 10-12kWh of electricity was installed in his home.

The power from the system is used for his home’s lighting system, household devices such as freezers, refrigerators, electric fans and a pumping system that waters his farm and pumps water into his fishing pond.

“As the demand for electricity consumption is on the rise, I made the decision to use renewable energy,” Sâm said.

Sâm said the renewable energy system helped him cut electricity bills from VNĐ740,000 to VNĐ370,000 per month.

More shops

The rising demand has led to opening of many shops selling renewable energy equipment and devices.

Nguyễn Nguyên Vũ, manager of Vũ Sơn Mechatronics & Energy Co. Ltd., headquartered in Bà Rịa Town, said he established the company in 2013 to provide renewable energy equipment and devices to floating villages not connected with the national grid from the southern central provinces to Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu.

Since 2017, the company has concentrated its operations in southern provinces, especially in Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, as the demand for renewable energy keeps rising.

The number of customers rose from 10 in 2013 to 80 in 2018.

To meet customers’ rising demand, Vũ Sơn’s staff have to work on the weekends, he said.

Trần Thanh Hải, deputy director of the EVN (Vietnam Electricity) Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, said that some 130 organisations, enterprises and private homes are using renewable energy with total capacity of nearly 1,000kWp.

These include renewable energy systems operated by EVN Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu (140kWp); Côn Đảo Islands (100kWh), Sammy – Vũng Tàu (40kWp), and Eclat Fabrics Việt Nam (30kWp).

Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu has favourable conditions for renewable energy. On average, it has from 2,000 to 2,600 sunny hours per year, with radiant intensity of about 5.47kWh per square metre per day.

The Government has issued a policy to purchase electricity power generated by households using renewable energy batteries, which is awaiting approval of the Ministry of Finance and the General Taxation Bureau, Hải said. — VNS