In the first six months of 2020, Vietnam’s coal imports surged to a record high due to the growing number of coal-fired power plants.
The Customs Department said that in the first half of the year, the country’s coal imports soared by 53.8% year-on-year to 31.57 million tonnes. Meanwhile, the country’s domestic coal output was 25.27 million tonnes in the period.
In comparison, in 2019, Vietnam brought in 43.77 million tonnes in the full year.
Vietnam is estimated to face severe power shortages starting in 2021 because the construction of new plants is lacking demand. Meanwhile, the consumption of electricity is likely exceeding supply by 6.6 billion kWh next year, and 15 billion kWh in 2023.
State-oil company PetroVietnam stated last week that it would halt the development of new coal-fired power plants and plans to reach out to renewable energy sources as most of its offshore oil fields have reached a peak in producing crude oil.
Vietnam mainly imported coal from Indonesia, Australia, and Russia.
