Located in the middle of sunny and windy Central Viet Nam with average sunshine hours per year up to 2,100 hours and an average radiation intensity of 4.89kWh / m2 / day, Da Nang boasts great potential for solar energy generation, especially rooftop solar panel installation.

Solar panels installed on the rooftop of the Cancer Hospital in Hoa Minh Ward, Lien Chieu District

Heading towards building itself into an environmentally friendly city in the future, Da Nang has cooperated with the European Union (EU) to implement the ‘Development of Solar Energy in Da Nang (DSED)” project, which has brought up many economic benefits.

Jointly developed by EU and the Da Nang Energy Conservation Centre (DECC), the project lasted from July 2017 until October 2019 at a cost of 444,000 EUR. Of this, 393,000 EUR was funded by the EU, whilst the remainder came from DECC’s capital.

Under the large-scale project, solar panels were installed on the rooftop of 6 selected families and 4 public buildings - the Da Nang General Hospital, the city’s Cancer Hospital, Hoang Dieu Junior High School, and Vo Thi Sau Primary School.

The total installed capacity is 49.5kWP, whist the annual energy generation capacity is 72,270kWh. The installation of the rooftop solar panels helps the public facilities and families save 26 million VND and 8.6 million VND each, respectively.  

Located in an alley on Le Van Hien Street, Hoa Hai Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, viewed from a distance, Mai Thi Ba's house looks somewhat different from surrounding ones as its roof is covered with the project-funded solar panels.

The owner of this house said, previously, her family often paid a monthly electricity bill worth about 1 million VND for the frequent use of such many electrical devices as washing machines, televisions, refrigerators, computers, and kitchenware.

Since the installation of the solar panels on her house’ roof in mid-June, her family has so far saved about 500,000 VND on electricity on a monthly basis.

The 900-patient bed Cancer Hospital, located in Hoa Minh Ward, Lien Chieu District, is one of the public buildings to have benefited from the project. Doctor Tran Tu Quy, the Director of the hospital, eagerly remarked, the solar energy has helped to stabilise the hospital’s power source.

In a similar vein, at the end of September, the Vo Thi Sau Primary School in Thuan Phuoc Ward, Hai Chau District enjoyed great benefits from the project.

Mr Nguyen Thai Phong, the Principal of the school, said, “During the 3-month summer of trial operation, the rooftop solar panels generated a total of more than 3.5kWh, hereby saving 25% - 30% of the total electricity demand of the school. Not only does the renewable energy protects the environment, it also helps the school save an average of VND 2.2 million per month on electricity bills”.

After 2 years of implementation, the solar energy development project has achieved many remarkable results. In particular, the map of the city’s solar potential, currently operating at http://nlmtdanang.com.vn/, allows public access to information on solar theoretical and technical potential and the data of solar energy projects already installed in the city.

Besides, DECC’s existing showroom has already been upgraded to allow it to acquire modern equipment to demonstrate how solar photo-voltaic panels produce electricity from capturing free-of-charge energy from the sun, as well as net metering which connects the produced energy with the national distribution grid.

Currently, the showroom displays advanced energy-saving and renewable energy equipment, including solar-powered lights, backpacks, lamp posts, battery systems, and solartubes.

Ms Nguyen Thi Thu, the Manager of the solar energy development project, remarked, in the coming time, importance will be attached to raising public awareness about the benefits of solar energy and spread the message ‘Solar energy for a green future’.

By KHANG NINH- Translated by ANH THU