Two workers clean solar panels of a solar power system of a family in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Vu Doan.

Vietnam plans to more than triple the amount of electricity it produces from renewable sources and push for a 26 percent increase in household solar energy usage by 2030, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said. 

Speaking ahead of Vietnam's participation in the expanded G7 summit that will be held in Canada from June 8 to 9, Phuc also said he hopes the country can utilize its roughly 20 million tons of rare earth reserves, which he said are the world's third-largest, in building new energy technologies.

"We wish to cooperate in research and development and transfer of advanced technologies in mining and in-depth processing of rare earth in order to create high value-added and environment-friendly products," Phuc said.

Vietnam's largest rare earth mine is in the northern province of Lai Chau, near the border with China. The metallic minerals are essential for technologies such as wind turbines, electric car batteries, solar panels and smartphones.

Vietnam has been seeking to promote renewable energy development to reduce its increasing reliance on coal for electricity generation.

According to its Strategy of Renewable Energy Development, by 2030 Vietnam plans to reduce its use of coal products by 40 million tons, Phuc said.

Vietnam will consume 156.6 million tons of the fuel by 2030, according to a forecast in a 2016 report on the Ministry of Industry and Trade website.

By that time, coal-fired power plants will account for 53 percent of Vietnam's total power generation capacity, compared with the current level of 45 percent, the ministry said.

Solar-powered water heaters have enjoyed fairly widespread use in Vietnam over recent years, although solar panel usage is far less common.

Vietnam is aiming to increase the use of household solar energy equipment to 12 percent by 2020, and 26 percent by 2030, according to Phuc.

"It is important that we will not pursue economic growth at the expense of the environment," said Phuc.

Source: VnExpress