Vietnam to become top global coal importer as power demand rises: International Energy Agency

Vietnam is set to surpass Taiwan to become the fifth-biggest coal importer in the world, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its July 2024 edition of the Coal Mid-Year Update report.

The IEA said mainland China, India, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan have consistently ranked as the world’s top coal importers in the last decade, highlighting Asia’s dominant role in the global coal trade. This period witnessed the strong economic performances of mainland China and India and the stable results of South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

Vietnam’s growing demand for coal is driven primarily by its power sector, the IEA added. In the short term, the low availability of hydroelectricity and the strong growth in power demand would drive up the coal demand, it elaborated.

The agency attributed the issues to high power usage during intense heat wave caused by El Nino, along with the reduced rainfall and state utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) conserving water at hydropower dams.

While Vietnam is traditionally reliant on seaborne coal, it has intensified coal imports from Laos over the past two years and plans to further increase this trade, the IEA added.

Besides, the IEA stressed the cancellation of Song Hau 2 coal-fired thermal power plant casted doubts over other coal-fired power projects in Vietnam.

Considering the significant import demand from China, India, Vietnam, and others, the IEA expects Indonedia to fulfill a large proportion of the demand.

According to Vietnam's General Statistisc Office, the country spent over $5.01 billion on importing nearly 39.73 million tons of coal in the first seven months of this year, up 15.5% in value and 34.4% in volume from the same period last year.

Also in January-July, Vietnam’s clean coal output reached 27.39 million tons, down 1.3% year-on-year, according to the General Statistisc Office.

In the first seven months of 2024, Vietnam's total electricity generation reached 179.44 billion kWh, up 11.5% year-on-year, according to EVN. Electricity sales hit 160.41 billion kWh, up 13.52%.

Coal-fired thermal power reached 96.4 billion kWh, or 53.7% of the total. It was followed by hydropower with 40.9 billion kWh, or 22.8%; renewables with 24.02 billion kWh, or 13.4% (solar power of 16 billion kWh and wind power of 7.3 billion kWh); gas-fired power with 14.65 billion kWh, or 8.2%; and imported power with 3.07 billion kWh, or 1.7%.