International experience suggests a Fund model in Vietnam
On August 13, the Department of Innovation, Green Transformation and Industrial Promotion, Ministry of Industry and Trade organized the "Conference to consult the Fund for Promoting Energy Saving and Efficiency Use".
At the workshop, experts, representatives of management agencies and businesses gave many opinions on the operating mechanism, financial resources and support methods of the Fund.
Presenting consultations at the Workshop, Mr. Pham Phan Dung, Representative of the Research Group, shared international experiences on the implementation of the Fund to promote energy saving and efficiency, including experience from funds with similar mechanisms in Vietnam.
Mr. Dung said that through reviewing international experience in 10 countries, there are 16 funds, divided into 5 main groups of models. Including: Direct Financial Fund Model, Non-Refundable Fund Model, Financial Intermediary and Risk Sharing Model, Market-Based Policy Model, Combined Fund Model.
According to Mr. Dung, the most successful model is designed in the direction of combining many financial tools, while combining technical cooperation mechanisms and project quality control.
Regarding the results of reviewing domestic experience, Mr. Dung said that in Vietnam there are 04 funds including: Direct Public Finance Fund; Development Investment Fund; Green Investment Fund; Local Development Investment Fund.
Regarding the Fund implementation solution, it is necessary to establish an inter-sectoral coordination mechanism with clear division of functions, tasks and responsibilities of relevant agencies, and at the same time identify a unified focal point for coordination, in order to improve the efficiency of resource use.
Strengthen communication and raise awareness for businesses; implement technical support programs, build a list of projects with high quality and capital mobilization capacity....
Proposal to improve the financial mechanism for the ESCO model
From the perspective of providing energy-saving services, Mr. Tran Viet Nguyen, Deputy Head of the Electricity Business and Trading Department, Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) mentioned the energy service company (ESCO) model.
This is a model providing energy saving services from A-Z for customers. ESCO plays the role of surveying and identifying energy saving potential; Providing energy saving solutions, arranging finances; Measuring and evaluating efficiency, maintenance, repair and reporting...
According to Mr. Nguyen, the Vietnamese market still has many potential ESCO projects, such as industrial-scale solar water heaters, high-performance street lights (LEDs)...
However, the implementation of ESCO still faces difficulties in the legal corridor, methods for determining energy saving levels, resolving contract disputes, finance and risks in capital recovery. The market is also limited in terms of solutions, training, team of experts and technical support.
From this reality, EVN proposes to form a financial fund to promote energy saving and efficiency; standardize the measurement and verification process (M&V); independently appraise and evaluate and announce the list of ESCO enterprises with capacity. Guidance on accounting for units using state budget and operations of the ESCO Vietnam Association.
The opinions contributed at the Workshop will be an important basis for the Ministry of Industry and Trade to continue to improve the model of the Fund to Promote Energy Saving and Efficiency, ensuring that the Fund is feasible, effective, transparent and sustainable, and truly becomes a tool to promote energy saving investment on a larger scale.
