“I really don’t know why the US EXIM Bank decides to consider funding for coal power plants in Vietnam" Green ID Vietnam
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Neither do I Miss Hang.
Maybe Congressional leaders in the US could pose the same question as Miss Hang of GreenID did, as they consider the future of the US's leading ...
Neither do I Miss Hang.
Maybe Congressional leaders in the US could pose the same question as Miss Hang of GreenID did, as they consider the future of the US's leading export finance institution.
Faced with a hostile incumbent President, a non-quorate board and continuing questions about their support for a few corporate favourites, US EXIM is facing some high hurdles.
The news that new coal plant funding is reportedly on US EXIM's agenda for Vietnam is unwelcome and comes against a backdrop of a very strong momentum in the opposite (more sustainable) direction:
Supported by Eurocham Vietnam and AmCham (The American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam), the Plan advocates displacement of the new generation of coal plants by greater Energy Efficiency investment, full exploitation of domestic renewables and renewed natural gas delivery from proven offshore resources. Cheaper, less risky and immediately financable the Made in Vietnam Energy Plan is superior to the high risk, highly concentrated coal plan, which has already fallen far behind schedule.
US EXIM's name has also been allegedly linked to other large planned power projects in Vietnam over recent years, including large "off shore" wind farms in the southern provinces to which GE is reportedly a supplier. It has long puzzled wind experts why these wind farms receive higher preferential Feed In Tariffs than the other onshore wind sites in Vietnam. Wind conditions in these offshore locations are reportedly less productive than the onshore locations in Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces and the offshore locations increase the installation and operation costs by up to 30% compared to easy access onshore locations. That the least productive sites with the highest development cost are being developed first defies all logic.
Reported past calls by Friends of the Earth for greater transparency in US EXIM and clarity about their assessment process and due diligence are very relevant still. Environmental, Social impact and Governance issues are still regularly a problem for large infrastructure investments in Vietnam and the TI scores are poor Transparency International.
In Vietnam's quest for reliable and affordable power it seems very unlikely that expensive offshore wind farms and US EXIM financed imported coal plants will be the answer. Financing someone else's escalating carbon emissions in a high risk environment like Vietnam also seems to be exactly what US EXIM should not be doing as it faces a hard examination of its merits back in Washington D.C.
