Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui

Vietnam has become a hot spot for energy investors eyeing a spend of up to $150 billion over the coming decade to meet surging power demand, with coal set to dominate despite signs of a government effort to go green.

A Vietnamese company is no longer seeking American financial support to build a coal-fired power plant in Vietnam, bringing to an abrupt end a closely watched test of whether Washington would back international projects that could potentially contribute to climate change.

The towering lattice of blue steel girders rising above banana and lemongrass crops near Vietnam’s southern coast stands as public testament to the country’s drive to burn coal.

Vietnam doubles down on coal-fired power plants, despite a recent study warning of the high environmental costs.

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has signalled a reduced role for new coal fired power stations in the country’s forthcoming power plans and an expanded role for renewable energy.

The investors of the Nong Son thermopower plant project might feel regret for their decision to let a Chinese company execute the project. Kicked off in 2008, but the project has not been completed.

Coal will take over from hydropower as the leading fuel for new electricity generation in Vietnam in the next five years, during which power demand is set to rise by 15 percent annually, Vietnam Electricity (EVN) said on Wednesday.

Vietnam's largest mining company wants to begin mining huge coal deposits in the Red River delta, one of the country's most-populated agricultural areas, officials said Monday.

The chairman of Vietnam's state-owned mining conglomerate has submitted his resignation to the prime minister after auditors criticized him over illegal coal mining, a company official said Thursday. Doan Van Kien, chairman of Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin), submitted his resignation Wednesday night at a meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, said Nguyen Chi Quang, a senior adviser to Kien.

Vietnam exported 32.5mil tonnes of coal last year, reaping $1.018bil. However, if it imports coal to run thermopower plants now, the said amount of money is just enough to buy back 7.5mil tonnes.