Eu vietnam business network

Emphasizing ICT as the field that will lead Vietnam’s digital economy, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that we must become an ICT powerhouse not in 2045 but in the next decade (2021-2030).

Technology and utilizing operational benefits are the key factors enabling the multinational firm to serve dozens of power plants in Vietnam.

Vietnam, with annual power demand growth of roughly 10%, requires significant improvements in energy efficiency, emission intensity together with national energy mix restructuring for low-carbon economic growth.

Wind farm in Vietnam’s Ninh Thuan Province. Photo: GE Renewable Energy

To make a transition towards greener economic growth, intensified investment in renewable energy become indispensable as energy intensity over the last decade was the only negative driver resulting in the slowdown of carbon emissions in the country.

The broader engagement of GE in green energy in Vietnam has contributed partly to the country’s power transition as the US-based company now generates up to 30% of Vietnam’s power with a GE fleet of nearly 30 gas turbines, servicing over 10 power plants and projects.

GE Spokesperson Som Shantanu, Regional Engineering Director, GE Gas Power, said there is not a one-size-fits-all technology solution for decarbonization but there’s significant opportunity in the technology space, with solutions such as GE’s HA heavy duty gas turbine and aeroderivative gas turbines.

He shared that as the optimum choice for a specific region or country depends on many factors namely fuel availability, pricing and security, land constraints, GE’s policy reform play an important factor towards decarbonization.

The solutions are aimed (1) to measure and incentivize reductions in power sector carbon intensity; (2) to enable transparency and predictability allowing lifecycle economics to drive investment decisions factoring in a cost of carbon in some form; (3) establish market structures that value energy, flexibility and dependable capacity separately to encourage the optimum mix of technologies in an affordable and practical way; (4) reward R&D, innovation, and private risk taking; (5) encourage the free flow of goods and ideas consistent with the principles of the World Trade Organization; (6) reflect national and local circumstances; (7) set realistic timelines for reduction effort.

Role of gas

Som Shantanu said gas will play a significant role in the power mix as the country looks to reduce coal power development, noting that the development of new gas capacity depends on availability of natural gas from new domestic fields and new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals.

The government is looking at integrated LNG to Power projects to accelerate development as opportunities in current LNG to Power projects are significant and GE is currently collaborating with local partners in this space.

GE is working with local partners in the development of several LNG-to-power projects, under the current PDP, for example, the GENCO3 and GE Long Son LNG-to-power project, 3600-4500 MW, under which we will supply our HA gas turbines.

In addition, the company’s repair and manufacturing capabilities through Phu My repair facility and Dung Quat HRSG manufacturing plant enable it to largely support the country to address its energy needs, the executive emphasized.

Utilizing operational benefits

GE recognizes that to remain relevant in today’s power market, engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC), plant operators and industries globally and in Vietnam, it must prioritize key operational benefits to drive business investment and help them remain competitive in this ever-changing environment.

While the upfront cost may appear to be higher, GE is able to help customers achieve efficiencies throughout the entire lifecycle, it includes.

Increasing competitiveness through increased efficiency : It is aimed to help customers be ready to capture every opportunity to generate revenue, our technology provides high efficiency which drives lower operating costs and higher margins, fast starts and fast ramp-ups to dispatch power fast, and provide the optimum capacity in periods of high demand. For example, GE’s world-record setting HA technology is capable of >64% net combined-cycle efficiency.

Operational flexibility : This is critical for gas turbines that complement renewable energy as it balances electric system loads and helps maintain grid reliability. This also allows for fast start and ramping, and efficient turndown to low loads to accommodate variable renewables and rapid demand fluctuations.

Reliability/Availability : GE is committed to helping customers ensure the durability of assets and strengthen capacity to withstand the test of time for more operating hours, reduced asset down-time, which ultimately avoid loss of revenue opportunities.

Partnership throughout the plant’s lifecycle : GE helps customers stay competitive in a dynamic industry by providing a lifecycle approach (we build and maintain gas plant assets) tapping into our in-depth OEM expertise and knowledge.

“We enable customers to get the most from the outage window, by inspecting or upgrading multiple assets. In addition, we also provide financing solutions, technology co-developments, project support and more,” Som Shantanu said.

To optimize life cycle cost and efficiencies, GE is able to leverage its strong regional repair capabilities which forms part the global supply chain.

Repair shops such as the Dung Quat HRSG Plant, as well the Global HA Repair & Development in Singapore enables repairs and services to be performed within the region. This means, GE has 90% in-region self-sufficiency to serve customers in Vietnam, within Asia, and also globally.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), this winter-spring rice crop in the Mekong Delta, rice output is estimated at 10.7 million tons, an increase of 144,000 tons of rice compared to the last winter-spring rice crop. Rice yield is estimated at over 7 tons per hectare, up 0.2 tons per hectare, the highest in the past five years. Currently, rice prices have slightly slid by about VND50-VND100 per kilogram, ranging from VND6,000 to VND7,500 per kilogram.

Mr. Le Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of Department of Crop Production, said that Mekong Delta farmers had a profit of over 45 percent of the selling price. While Mr. Nguyen Ngoc He, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Can Tho City, said that in the winter-spring rice crop of 2021, the rice yield of Can Tho farmers reached 7.6 tons per hectare. This is the year that the province produces rice best, with the highest yield and the profit of farmers over 50 percent.

Rice yields are high and rice prices are also at an acceptable level in the context of market difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic, along with the impacts of extreme weather. The current situation is far different from that five years ago. At that time, Professor-Dr. Vo Tong Xuan recalled, farmers produced rice spontaneously. If they wanted to grow any rice variety, they would grow it. If they wanted to adopt any technology, they would use it. Farmers grew rice without knowing who would buy rice and for how much. So each farmer grew each rice variety and they used the technique they wanted. As a result, in the same rice field, there were dozens of rice varieties and dozens of farming techniques, causing the spread of pests and diseases.

Prof.-Dr. Vo Tong Xuan also said that the functional department and enterprises need to put more effort into rice production, not to leave farmers to produce rice alone, but they must be responsible for organizing production. Each product put on the market needs to be produced in the value chain, strictly comply with the GAP process that links farmers, the State, the scientists, and entrepreneurs. The core is that the consumption enterprises are associated with agricultural cooperatives. It is the basis for Vietnamese rice to continue to reach farther.

Producing rice following market demand

The reality of rice production and trading, as mentioned above, in the Mekong Delta has changed significantly in recent years. Accordingly, the ST rice lines, namely ST24 and ST25 rice varieties, which have emerged and gone like hot cakes in both domestic and export markets, are a typical example of changes of farmers in choosing good varieties for production to sell to enterprises.

Mekong Delta farmers harvest winter-spring rice with the joy of having a good harvest and high rice prices. (Photo: SGGP)

The Department of Crop Production explained that the percentage of farmers using high-quality rice varieties to supply the high-end rice segment was on the increase. The group of fragrant and specialty rice, including Jasmine 85, ST, RVT, Tai Nguyen, and Nang Hoa 9, accounted for 22 percent of the total growing area, up 0.2 percent; the group of high-quality rice varieties, including OM5451, Dai Thom 8, Huong Chau 6, OM18, OM9577, OM9582, OM4900, OM7347, and OM6976, accounted for 55.5 percent, up 1 percent compared to that in the last winter-spring rice crop. Especially, the rate of farmers using certified rice varieties was approximately 78.57 percent; farmer-managed seed systems and exchange was about 19.65 percent, accounting for 25 percent of the supplied amount of certified seeds; the rate of farmers using original rice seeds was about 5 percent.

Mr. Le Thanh Tung said that the Department of Crop Production has proposed and oriented the structure of rice varieties according to ecological subregions in the Mekong Delta following the proposal of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA). In general, the rate of farmers using fragrant and high-quality rice varieties has increased, meeting the demand of rice export markets.

According to the VFA, because the weather was unfavorable and food production dropped in many countries, the demand for rice imports will increase in 2021. The European market is forecasted to be more vibrant when the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has come into effect, and Vietnam is an important rice trading partner.

Some rice exporters in the Mekong Delta said that the conversion and reduction of a part of rice-growing areas and the concentration on the segment of high-quality and fragrant rice have brought many advantages. Thereby, it helps reduce pressure to seek the consumption market, at the same time improve income for rice farmers. The quality of Vietnamese rice has been improved, creating many advantages, especially the door to the European market is wider and wider. Currently, the EU market has a demand to import about 2.1 million-2.3 million tons of rice per year, but currently, Vietnam only exports about 80,000 tons of rice under the EVFTA.