Between 2008 and 2011, the central city of Đà Nẵng has cut 12,000 tonnes of carbon emissions after developing environmentally friendly electric cars and household solar powered water heaters. Connecting household solar panels to the grid is seen as a positive way to make Đà Nẵng a ‘green’ city by 2025. Bùi Hoài Nam reports.

Phạm Ngọc Công covered the 12sq.m roof of his 3-storey home with solar panels to generate power for his family’s daily needs. The renewable energy system has helped Công cut his household’s electric consumption by 30 per cent each month, while cooling the penthouse during the scorching heat of summer.

The grid-tie solar power system produces 12 kilowatts per hour, supplying enough power for all electrical equipment including high consumption air conditioners and refrigerators, while solar-powered water heaters provide 24-hour hot water for family use.

“It’s saved me quite a bit of money. I used to pay VNĐ2 million (US$88) each month for my family’s use from the city’s grid, but I pay just VNĐ1 million ($44) since the top-roof solar power system was installed two years ago,” Công said.

“Meanwhile, three water heaters, which were powered by solar energy, costs almost nothing from the power grid in summer when the sunlight is at its maximum between 9am and 4pm,” he explained, adding that the renewable energy only loses capacity on long rainy days during the rainy season.

Public spaces: A park with a solar powered lighting system. — VNS Photo Minh Vũ

Công said the central region is sunny almost all year, so the solar power system is seen as one of the most effective solutions to ease carbon emissions while saving money and developing new power plants in the future.

He said renewable energy sources, including solar and wind power, are a smart choice in Việt Nam as the country focuses on its sustainable development.

Công said his family’s solar power system was built at a total cost of more than VNĐ100 million ($4,400), and the amount was paid in installments over 60 months.

Saving money is not just a big bonus for local residents, but it could help raise awareness about environmental protection and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from household electrical equipment.

Nguyễn Minh Vũ, director of the Đà Nẵng-based Bách Khoa Solar Power Investment and Development Joint-stock Corporation (SolarBK), said the development of household solar power systems in the city would help reduce carbon emissions, when a 3.5kWh solar power system cuts 2kg of carbon rather than rely on other power plants (hydro-power and thermo-power plants).

Vũ said more than 100 household solar power projects had been installed in Đà Nẵng, with total capacity of 500kWp (kilowatt peak), cutting 3.5 tonnes of carbon emissions each day.

 “The household ‘green’ power system can be seen as effective in long-term investment as the initial outlay is quite high. A minimum 2kWp system can be built on a house roof with investment of VNĐ59 million ($2,600), producing 240kW per hour each day,” he said.

“This means that a family can pay around VNĐ130,000 ($5.7) rather than VNĐ500,000 ($22) for national grid use each month,” Vũ explained.

The Đà Nẵng City’s technology and science college was the first location in the city to develop a solar power system on top of its building, supplying 75,000kWh each year from 160-solar panels and cutting carbon emissions by 48,000 tonnes.

No waste: A smart dustbin combined with a solar power charger for mobile phones on a street in Đà Nẵng. — VNS Photo Công Thành

Architect Mai Ngọc Phước said solar power and solar-generated water heaters had been included in all designs of new buildings in Đà Nẵng.

“We try to persuade our customers to add ‘green’ energy systems (solar power and water heaters) for long-term savings, while cooling the apartments as well as easing GHG emissions,” Phước said.

Policy

The Government issued a decision on pricing that aims to encourage the development of solar power projects in 2017.

It means that the output of solar power projects will be purchased for VNĐ2,086 (9.35 US cents) per kWh (excluding VAT), deemed a profitable rate for investors.

According to Đà Nẵng city’s Industry and Trade Department, 90 per cent of local people expect to build household solar power systems and sun-powered water heaters.

The department said around 30 per cent of the city’s population had used solar powered heaters, while 20 five-star hotels and resorts had been using solar powered heaters to save money and as an environmentally-friendly solution.

The Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said only 16 foreign-invested green energy projects were operating in Việt Nam as of the end of 2016, with total registered capital of $778 million. Of these just 18 per cent were investing in solar power.

Solar power project investors would be eligible for various other incentives, especially support related to land, investment capital and import and corporate income tax, the agency said.

By the end of July 2017, hundreds of solar energy projects had been registered in Việt Nam with total capacity of around 17,000MW.