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Factories need to increase energy efficiency
A seminar on Saturday, which was part of an international exhibition on energy efficiency and conservation, helped to educate 200 local and international participants on cutting down energy usage in manufacturing.
Experts at the symposium stressed the significant role of energy saving, especially energy conservation at factories, to ensure sustainable economic development.
According to a survey of five key industries in Ha Noi, factories in the capital consume a huge amount of energy unnecessarily due to the continued use of out-of-date equipment and technologies, which contributes greatly to production costs and environmental pollution.
The industries surveyed dealt with construction materials, machinery and equipment production, textile and garment, chemicals, as well as foodstuff, beverage and tobacco. On average, the technology being employed in these facilities was about 15-20 years behind internationally-available alternatives, the survey reported.
To raise awareness of enterprises on the issue, Viet Nam has implemented a national programme for using energy economically and effectively, which was supposed to help firms decrease energy demand about 3-5 per cent from 2006-10 and 5-8 per cent from 2011-15.
Some manufacturers have managed to upgrade their equipment and technology, but the programme was not widely promoted so results have been limited. In addition, producers lacked the financial resources and qualified labour to improve technologies, experts said.
An expert from the University of Technology, Pham Hoang Luong, said awareness on energy conservation by the leaders of companies plays an important role in the development strategy of each firm.
"For small-and-medium enterprises, they can hire outside professional experts to advise them and help them upgrade their equipment and technologies. For large ones, they may set up a department specialised in energy saving," he said.
"Producers should focus on training workers, so as to apply advanced technologies effectively, as well as raising awareness of other general labourers on energy conservation. That will help them cut costs."
During the conference, Makoto Adachi, general manager of the Business Alliance Support for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Department, under the Japanese Energy Conservation Centre, presented Japan’s experience of energy saving in industries.
He focused on energy efficiency and conservation, policies and measures in Japan, practical implementation of energy management in the workplace, energy conservation audits, etc.
The Energy Conservation Law was enacted in 1979 in Japan and amended and reinforced in 1983,1993,1998, 2002, 2005, and 2008. The Japanese Government issued financial incentives in the form of reduced taxes and subsidies to encourage producers to save energy and cut production costs.
The four-day Entech Ha Noi 2009 exhibition was jointly organised by the Ha Noi Energy Conservation Centre, the Ha Noi Trade Promotion Centre, the Global Expo and Event Joint Stock Co, and South Korea’s Busan Exhibition and Convention Centre with the participation of about 100 local and international enterprises.
VietNamNet, VietNamNews
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