Geothermal energy is heat energy generated and stored in the earth. It is said to be a clean, sustainable source. Nguyen Linh Ngoc, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), was speaking at the recent conference on geothermal energy in the Asia-Pacific region held in Hanoi.
Ngoc said that energy production accounted for the release of 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but in Vietnam, the figure was more than 50 percent because of pollution from fossil fuels-based energy plants.
In 2015, at COP21, the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, Vietnam pledged to unconditionally cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent by 2030 compared to business-as-usual (BAU) projections, or by up to 25 percent if international support was forthcoming.
At the conference, experts and scientists from many countries discussed direct use of geothermal power and ground-source heat pumps (GSHP), the benefits of geothermal energy and geothermal power production - and technologies for the treatment of geothermal reservoirs to enhance electricity generation.
The many socio-economic benefits of geothermal energy were also highlighted, including energy security, improved ecology and low emissions.
The conference was organised by the Vietnam Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources and the Geothermal Implementing Agreement (IEA Geothermal). IEA Geothermal, operating under the International Energy Agency, aims to boost international co-operation on geothermal energy production and use.
