In its March 28 issue, the magazine said in an article the Vietnam government has announced plans to bring the nation’s total solar power capacity to 850MW and wind power capacity to at least 800 MW.

At present, these power sources account for only a very small proportion of energy usage.

The article said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recently approved the National Power Development Plan for 2011-2020 with a vision towards 2030, which revolutionizes Vietnam’s energy policies.

According to the article, Vietnam is a new ‘tiger’ in Asia with a high economic growth rate driven by foreign invested manufacturers. Like other developing nations, the high economic growth will result in increased energy consumption.
  

The annual power consumption increased tenfold from 1990 to 2014 and this upward trajectory sees no sign of abating anytime soon, said the article.The greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) per capita in Vietnam have also increased with an average of 1.7 metric tons per capita annually. The figure is lower than the average 9.5 metric tons per capita in Germany.