Bac Lieu (VNA) – Specialists and scientists have gathered at a conferencein the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu to promote the use of renewable energy in shrimp farming for theindustry’s sustainable development.

The“Conference Promoting Renewable Energy Investment for Vietnamese ShrimpIndustry” was held on August 17 by the Vietnam Fisheries Society (VINAFIS) in collaboration with the BacLieu provincial People’s Committee, the management board of the project“Sustainable and Equitable Shrimp Production and Value Chain Development inVietnam (SusV),” GRAISEA Project, International Collaborating Centre forAquaculture and Fisheries Sustainability (ICAFIS), Oxfam Vietnam, and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Vietnam.

It isinevitable to use renewableenergy in shrimp farming as it helps save electricity, cut costs and promotethe industry’s sustainable development, heard the conference.

In 2017, the totalaquaculture production area of 10 southern provinces – Ca Mau, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Kien Giang,Tra Vinh, Ben Tre, Tien Giang, Long An, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Ninh Thuan – spanned 428,495 hectares and the production consumed nearly 12,000 million KW.h.

To 2020, the total area is expected to be 651,266 hectares with electricity demand increasing by 30 percent compared to 2017’s, which will result in electrical overload whilecurrent investment in electricity fails to keep up with such rapid growth.

According tothe Southern Power Cooperation (EVNSPC), most of the shrimp farming households use electricity for lighting their farms, frequently causing overload for the  regionalgrid. Additionally, there is a lack of an effective coordination mechanismamong sectoral authorities to properly manage power supply infrastructure,power efficiency and safety, and the environment.

To solve theproblem, EVNSPC Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Ly proposed a grid-connectedsolar power system in shrimp cultivation to be studied and put into use. The systemwill not only generate powerfor on-site consumption but also reduce the amount of electricity used from the national gridand CO2 emissions, and cutcosts.

VINAFISPresident Nguyen Viet Thang added that the system will also help reducetemperature for shrimp ponds.

Vice Chairmanof the provincial People’s Committee Vuong Phuong Nam said Bac Lieu has 12companies, two organisationsand 318 households implementing intensive and semi-intensive shrimp farmingusing electricity.

The provincehas worked to develop renewble energy with the Bac Lieu wind power plant put while other 15 windpower project with a combined capacity of nearly 3,000MW are being reviewed by the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade for approval. –VNA