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The draft of the eighth national power development plan shows majir changes in power source development from now to 2030 compared with the seventh plan.

Under the draft, Vietnam will develop wind and solar power on a large scale, with the capacity of wind power increasing by three times and solar power by two times compared with the adjusted seventh plan.

Vietnam will only continue the projects under construction or under investment promotion, to be operational in the 2021-2025 period.

The coal-fired thermopower proportion will decrease gradually from 34 percent in 2020 to 27 percent by 2030.

The Ministry of Investment and Trade wants to strongly develop gas-fired power with capacity increasing from 7GW in 2020 to 13.5GW by 2025 and 28-33GW by 2030 and the proportion of gas-fired power increasing from 15 percent in 2020 to 21-23 percent by 2030.

The wind power capacity would rise from 600MW in 2020 to 11,000-12,000MW by 2025 and 18,000-19,000MW by 2030. Wind power would account for 11 percent of total installation capacity by 2025 and 13 percent by 2030.

As for solar power, the capacity would increase from 17,000MW in 2020-2025 to 19,000-20,000MW by 2030. The proportion of solar power would be 17 percent of total installation capacity by 2025 and 14 percent by 2030.

Wind and solar power would also be strongly developed in 2031-2045, accounting for 42 percent by 2045.

However, because of the high uncertainty, the strong development of these power sources will have a major impact on the national electricity system.

The ministry believes that as the electricity generation capacity of the sources of power can change rapidly, wind power will cause considerable fluctuations to the electricity system when the wind changes or stops.

If other sources of power cannot replace wind power at that time, or existing power sources cannot be adjusted quickly to offset the capacity decrease, the electricity system will fall into imbalance in terms of supply sources and additional charges will occur. In the worst scenario, this may cause electricity outageon a large scale.

Warning of the problem, the ministry said it is necessary to develop other backup power sources which will be mobilized when wind and solar power sources fail. The capacity of the sources to be used needs to be nearly equal to the total capacity of wind and solar power sources which provide electricity to the national grid.

The ministry said it wants to encourage the development of rooftop solar power systems rather than large-scale solar power farms with the capacity of tens or hundreds of MW.

Luong Bang

By Anh Duc

The students and their ATM

A multiuse ATM has been at the entrance door to the school for the last two months.

Every day, students queue up in front of the machine to get their hands disinfected and receive face masks before entering the school. They can also receive instant noodles and rice if they want.

The ATM was invented by Vo Le Xuan Thuy and Ho Nguyen Minh Thu, 12th graders at the school.

Thuy said in early 2019, she and former students of the school made an ATM distributing rice to needy people. The machine was created within a short time, so it was not perfect and it could not operate well.

Thuy, together with Minh Thu, a classmate, decided to improve the rice ATM and turn it into a multiuse machine The idea of the two female students then got strong support from teachers.

The machine was completed after 2.5 months. At that moment, Covid-19 broke out once again in some northern provinces and cities. They decided to put the ATM at the school’s entrance door to help prevent coronavirus spread.

“We are happy that the machine has been running properly, with no trouble, though hundreds of students disinfect their hands and receive necessities every day,” Thuy said.

According to Minh Thu, the machine is small, created with aluminum and steel frame. It has an automatic conveyor that provides face masks, noodles and rice; a hand sanitizer spray equipment; a tray that contains essentials; and sensor and machine control circuit.

When students gets near the machine, the sensor will recognize them. Within one second, antiseptics, instant noodles, rice and face masks will be automatically pushed out from the machine.

To make the machine, besides the existing ATM equipment, the students had to buy electronic devices and were commissioned to make the frame. They spent time reading documents to make the ATM and used a piece of code under the instruction of teacher Nguyen Thi Mai.

According to Thu, the machine costs VND6-7 million. It runs with solar power, equipped with an LED lamp and camera.

“We decided to use a LED lamp so that it can operate in the evening. We installed a solar panel for the ATM in case the electricity is cut,” she said.

The parts can be assembled and disassembled easily.

Le Bang

The central city of Da Nang is one of the first cities to place traffic cameras on main street arteries. Up to 143 cameras have been installed in 47 locations. The installation of cameras has raised people’s awareness, and encouraged them to follow traffic lights and control their speed. It has also reduced the presence of police officers at major traffic points.

According to the Da Nang Traffic Police Department, from 2016 to 2020, these “magic eyes” helped to find and report 48,118 traffic violations, of which 38,004 cases were issued total fines of 55 billion dong and 7,590 driving licenses were withdrawn.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, a resident on Vo Chi Cong street, said that when there was no surveillance camera, many drivers did not follow traffic lights. After cameras were installed, people were more aware of compliance, causing fewer accidents.

Interviewed by VietNamNet on February 23, Lieutenant Colonel Thai Anh Tuan, Head of Propaganda and Inspection of Traffic Accidents and Violations (Da Nang Traffic Police Department), said the surveillance cameras detect violations such as speeding, using wrong lanes and running red lights, and monitor traffic vehicle flows.

“Annually, the cameras detect about 10,000 violations. Many people used to cross at yellow lights. Currently, the people are more responsive, hence reduction in accidents. Drivers are well aware of surveillance cameras,” said Tuan.

Reduce on-site work for police

Lieutenant Colonel Doan Ngoc Minh Tuan, Deputy Head of Da Nang Traffic Police Department, said that “magic eyes” have been placed at important traffic points, monitor traffic for 24/24 and record violations correctly and clearly. Cameras are also useful for detecting and tackling crime.

According to Tuan, surveillance cameras have eased on-site pressure for police officers. “They used to be present all the time at key traffic points to monitor traffic. Since the installation of cameras, they instead patrol to inspect and improve their efficiency,” said Tuan.

He further revealed that cameras have been placed on such street arteries as Vo Nguyen Giap and Nguyen Tat Thanh. His department and the transportation department plan to ask Da Nang People’s Committee to invest and install more surveillance cameras on other roads for social security.

Ho Giap