The southern province of Hau Giang has been chosen as a model to devise amaster plan for biomass energy by the German development agency GIZ,considering its abundant source of solid farming wastes.

HauGiang relies solely on agriculture for economic growth with 200,000ha ofrice and 12,000ha of sugarcane, generating tens of thousands of tonnesof straws and bagasse – key materials for producing power.

At aworkshop to launch the work on the master plan in Hau Giang on October29, Director of the New and Renewable Energy Department, an arm of theMinistry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Pham Trong Thuc said the planshould be completed by February next year.

The plan willassess the potential of the existing biomass, outline the rule to usethis source of energy and consider possible impacts on greenhouse gasemission, he said.

During the workshop, technical experts fromGIZ presented an overview of the Vietnam – Germany renewable energydevelopment project and the role of biomass in Vietnam’s sustainabledevelopment strategy.

Nguyen Duc Cuong, Director of the Centrefor Renewable Energy and Clean Development Mechanism under theInstitute of Energy, said biomass reserves in Vietnam are estimated at150 million tonnes a year, equivalent to 50 million tonnes of crude oil.Besides bagasse and rice husk, all kinds of fiber and waste fromagricultural and forestry activities after harvest could be used as fuelfor electricity generation.

The country is also seeking to develop other sources of renewable energy, such as bio-gas and waste energy.-VNA