Posted on March, 15 2013

Thua Thien Hue - Experience gained from developing a pilot energy efficiency plan in ‘Cao Trieu prawn farming area’ in Quang Cong Commune, Quang Dien District in Thua Thie Hue Province as well as experience from Thai Binh Province and the United Kingdom will be shared at a final conference to be held in Hue on 15 March 2013.

WWF-Vietnam and Thua Thien Hue Department of Industry and Trade are jointly organising this conference under the framework of the UK-supported “Central Region Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy Planning Capacity Building Project” (CESEP). Some fifty participants from across public, civil society, and business sectors in Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, and Quang Tri provinces and Da Nang City, are expected to attend.

The ‘Cao Trieu prawn farming area’ in Quang Cong Commune was selected for piloting sustainable energy development planning, as the prawn farming activities in Quang Dien District accounts for the second largest electricity consumption in the district. Following the energy baseline development and assessment of feasible actions, in consultation with local farmers, three actions are proposed in the pilot energy efficiency plan, as follows:

1. Establishment of an energy service group to provide information, energy services, etc. to the local farmers;
2. Replacement of the three water pumps; and
3. Replacement of diesel motors with electrical one for pond activities of at least sixteen households.

The pilot plan targets to reduce the energy consumption by twenty percent for ‘Cao Trieu prawn farming area’ in Quang Cong Commune by 2015, thus reducing the farmer’s energy expenses and the Greenhouse Gas (GHGs) emissions from the farming activities. Mr Nguyen Duy Thanh, Vice Director of the Department for Industry and Trade of Thua Thien Hue said: “We would like to promote sustainable energy use in various productive activities across in the Province. If the project succeeds in helping local people to use energy sustainably and creating good income in Quang Cong Commune, we will consider replicating the model across Thua Thien Hue Province.”

At the workshop, the Energy Alliance of Non-State Actors Vietnam and The Carbon Trust (UK) will share their experience in local energy planning and sustainable energy development in Thai Binh Province and the United Kingdom respectively. Commenting on the role of that government authorities can play, Tom Cumberlege, Consultant at the Carbon Trust highlighted: “Public sector bodies consume lots of energy through the delivery of their services. Implementing energy efficiency measures helps to save money and meet their public responsibility to use public funding wisely”.

To date, the Carbon Trust has worked with over 3,000 public bodies in the UK realising over £650M of cost savings. “Given the challenges for future energy demands of Vietnam’s growing economy and our expertise in lower carbon energy solutions, we’ve been thrilled to exchange the experience of UK Local Governments on this crucial topic”, he added.

“This conference is a good opportunity for us to present the final draft pilot energy efficiency plan for the ‘Cao Trieu prawn farming area’ in Quang Cong Commune and get more ideas from stakeholders and experts in the region, Vietnam, and the UK. We hope the approach and lessons learned from this pilot planning will promote sustainable energy development and thus more efficient natural resource use in Thua Thien Hue and Vietnam”, said Trine Glue Doan, Climate and Energy Adviser, WWF-Vietnam.

The CESEP is funded by the Bilateral Fund of the British Embassy in Vietnam for 2012-2013 and with the objective to support capacity for local sustainable energy planning and facilitate collaboration between authorities, business and civil society in Central Vietnam. The project is implemented by WWF-Vietnam in collaboration with Thua Thien Hue Department of Industry and Trade and Danang Department of Science and Technology and with technical assistance from the Carbon Trust (UK). The project runs from September 2012 to March 2013.