Hai Phong (VNA) – Aworkshop took place in the northern city of Hai Phong on May 19, where a pilotvoluntary agreement (VA) programme on efficient use of energy and a model ofenergy service company (ESCO) in Vietnam were introduced.
The programme and model is partof the Vietnam Clean Production and Energy Efficiency Project, funded by theGlobal Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Bank (WB).
Trinh Quoc Vu, Director of theDepartment of Science-Technology and Energy Efficiency under the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade’s General Directorate of Energy, said the VA and ESCO aim tosave energy in industries, thus helping enterprises reduce costs and enhancecompetitiveness.
The pilot stage of the 10-year VAprogramme will last for two years, during which firms commit to cutting energyin production based on assistance from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
An ESCO is a commercial businessproviding a broad range of energy solutions including the design andimplementation of energy saving projects, retrofitting, and energy conservationand infrastructure outsourcing. An ESCO provides services via an EnergyPerformance Contract (EPC).
Subjects appropriate to ESCOprojects are public lighting systems; administrative agencies, non-productive agencies,state budget beneficiaries, industrial manufacturers and service suppliers.
Statistics showed that there areabout 100 energy efficiency service suppliers in Vietnam, but only a fractionof them follows the ESCO model.-VNA