Page 479 - Ebook HTKH 2024

ELECTRICITY GENERATION FROM RENEWABLES IN VIETNAM:

TRENDS AND OBSTACLES

Lai Lam Anh 204 , Pham Van Tuan 205 , Pham Hoang Anh
206

Abstract: Vietnam is a country with great potential for developing renewable energy such as
hydropower, solar power, wind power, and biomass power. However, the proportion of renewable
electricity in Vietnam is still mainly hydropower and coal power, while wind power and solar power
are renewable energy sources with great potential but still have a low proportion. Developing
renewable energy will contribute to promoting the industrialization and modernization process of
Vietnam in the new period. On the other hand, renewable energy development in Vietnam still faces
many obstacles in terms of production costs, technology, and environmental issues. Based on that issue,
this article will study about electricity generation from renewables in Vietnam in the new context. The
article focuses on an overview of electricity generation from renewables, the context of renewable
energy development, the current status of renewable energy development and some policy suggestions
for Vietnam.
Keywords: Renewable energy, hydropower, wind power, solar power, electricity

1. Overview of renewable electricity generation
Renewable electricity generation is the process of producing electricity from
renewable energy sources. Renewable energy is a source of energy that can be used

“almost infinitely” for human needs. Renewable energy comes from things that won’t
run out, such as from the sun, wind, water, biomass, geothermal and some other energy
sources. In contrast, non-renewable energy comes from things that will run out one day
- oil, coal, natural gas, and uranium (Dawn Stover, 2011).
Renewable energy is energy that is generated from virtually unlimited energy
sources. The term “virtually limitless” energy sources can be understood in two ways:
First, energy sources exist in such abundance that humans cannot exhaust it (such as

solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, etc.); second, energy that is renewable in the
short term and continuously (such as biomass energy).
Renewable energy is commonly used in electricity generation. The most common
renewable energy sources used to generate electricity include:
Solar power: The sun can be considered an almost infinite source of energy for
the earth because the sun is predicted to exist for another four billion years. People can

directly collect solar energy through the photovoltaic effect, converting the energy of
the sun's photons into electricity and storing it in solar batteries. People can use solar
energy to boil water in solar thermal power plants to generate electricity.
Wind power: Wind is considered an unlimited source of energy because wind is
the movement of air currents in the earth's atmosphere. People have used wind turbines
to rotate turbines to generate electricity.

204 Institute of World Economics and Politics, Email: lla2477@gmail.com
205 Hanoi Open University
206 University of Debrecen, Hungary
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