STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF BIOGAS DEVELOPMENT IN SOME NORTHERN PROVINCES AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO PREPARATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VIETNAM S NDC

Transcription

1 VIETNAM Ecology and Environment Institute Hanoi, 2017 VIETNAM STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF BIOGAS DEVELOPMENT IN SOME NORTHERN PROVINCES AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO PREPARATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VIETNAM S NDC Facilitating Implementation and Readiness for Mitigation (FIRM)

2 COPYRIGHT, 2017 This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. UNEP DTU Partnership would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from the UNEP DTU Partnership. DISCLAIMER This publication is an output of the Facilitating Implementation and Readiness for Mitigation project (FIRM), funded by DANIDA of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UNEP DTU Partnership (UDP). The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UNEP DTU Partnership or UNEP. This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit services without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. No use of this publication may be made for resale or any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from the UNEP DTU Partnership. NATIONAL COORDINATION Vietnam Ecology and Environment Institute Hanoi, 2017 AKNOWLEDGEMENT The project Facilitating Implementation and Readiness for Mitigation (FIRM) has been implemented with the support of a grant from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Graphic design : Fabrice Belaire Infographie For any inquiries or questions please contact: UNEP DTU PARTNERSHIP UN City, Copenhagen Marmorvej 51, 2100 Copenhagen Ø Denmark Web: LinkedIn: UNEPDTU

3 LIST OF TABLES... III LIST OF FIGURES... IV 1. DEVELOPMENT OF BIOGAS TECHNOLOGY IN VIETNAM Process development of biogas program in Vietnam to now Implemented biogas projects in some northern mountainous provinces Biogas Program for the Animal Husbandry Sector of Vietnam Quality and Safety Enhancement of Agricultural Products and Biogas Development Livestock Competitiveness and Food Safety Project Low-Carbon Agriculture Support Project Program support for the development of biogas plants to reduce pollution and improve rural environments in the province of Vinh Phuc during LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION AND BIOGAS PLANT CONSTRUCTION IN SOME NORTHERN MOUNTAINOUS PROVINCES Thai Nguyen province Vinh Phuc province Phu Tho province Bac Giang province BARRIERS AND SOLUTIONS TO BIOGAS TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT Barriers Solutions Develop and improve policy and mechanisms Complete environment management system in livestock sector Develop and improve biogas technology Support for investment and the development of renewable energy in general and biogas in particular Capacity-building for society regarding biogas plant development and implementation i

4 4. BIOGAS PLANT DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL IN SOME NORTHERN PROVINCES Livestock development master plan of some northern mountainous provinces Biogas plant development potential in some northern provinces Proposed implementation plan to meet expected biodigestion installation up to EVALUATING POTENTIAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM BIOGAS DIGESTION Contribution of biogas digestion to greenhouse gas emissions Substitution of fossil fuels and non-renewable biomass Changing manure management modalities Substitution of chemical fertilizer Potential greenhouse gas emissions from biogas digestion Baseline emissions Leakage emission Project emissions from thermal energy demand Ex-ante estimates of emission reductions Contribution of installation of biodigesters to greenhouse gas emissions in Vietnam s Nationally Determined Contribution CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS REFERENCES APPENDIX 1. TYPE OF APPLIED BIOGAS TECHNOLOGY IN VIETNAM Parallelepiped pattern Cylinder pattern Sphere pattern APPENDIX 2. CALCULATING GHG EMISSIONS ii

5 Table 1. Situation of livestock development in Thai Nguyen province, Table 2. Situation of livestock development in Vinh Phuc province, Table 3. Situation of livestock development in Phu Tho province, Table 4. Situation of livestock development in Bac Giang province, Table 5. Livestock development master plan of some northern mountain provinces Table 6. Planning for the development of biogas households and farms to 2020 in some northern mountain provinces Table 7. Proposed implementation plan Table 8. Detailed implementation plan for some priority activities Table 9. Thermal energy demand of the households with the technical potential Table 10. CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions factors Table 11. Baseline emissions of each fuel and total thermal energy use Table 12. Methane emissions factors by temperature zone Table 13. Baseline emissions from animal waste management systems Table 14. Leakage emissions assessment Table 15. Estimated project emissions from thermal energy use Table 16. Estimated ex-ante project emissions from thermal energy use Table 17. Share of manure management system in the project scenario in the temperate zone Table 18. Calculated average MCF by temperate zone and animal Table 19. Calculated emissions factor by animal in temperate zone Table 20. Average annual emissions reductions Table 21. Estimated livestock population of four northern mountain provinces Table 22. Constructed and expected biogas digestion in four northern mountain provinces Table 23. Greenhouse gas emission reduction of four northern mountainous provinces iii

6 Figure 1. Number of biogas plants constructed in Thai Nguyen province, Figure 2. Number of biogas plants constructed in Vinh Phuc province, Figure 3. Number of biogas plants constructed in Phu Tho province, Figure 4. Number of biogas plants constructed in Bac Giang province, Figure 5. Biogas digestion model Figure 6. Nguyen Do biogas type Figure 7. DRAC biogas type Figure 8. Dong Nai biogas type Figure 9. RDAC biogas type Figure 10. Biogas type of Can Tho university Figure 11. NL 6 biogas type Figure 12. KT1 type Figure 13. KT2 type Figure 14. Composite digester Figure 15. Plastic digester Figure 16. KT31 type iv

7 Biogas technology was introduced and has been developed in Vietnam since the 1960s, Its development history can be divided into four periods, as follows: Information on biogas usage in the Great Leap Forward movement in China from 1957 to 1960 caught the attention of many people in northern Vietnam. As a result, many individuals and institutes in cities and provinces like Ha Noi, Bac Thai, Ha Nam, Ninh and Hai Hung decided to study and install biogas digesters. However, for technical and management reasons, these digesters did not operate as effectively as expected. In the south of Vietnam, the Research Institute of Agriculture, along with the Forestry and Livestock Institute of Sai Gon Authority, experimented with methane production from animal manure. However, due to massive imports of butane, propane gases and chemical fertilizers, more in-depth research was not conducted. After the country s reunification in 1975, due to the demand for social and economic development and for improvements in living standards, renewed attention was given to renewable energy in general and biogas in particular. The first biogas plant selected for experiment was a floating gasholder plant with a gasholder made of corrugated iron; the digester was constructed from bricks, and a washer was inserted at the collar to ensure watertightness. However, these plants had to be closed for technical and management reasons. Until the end of 1979, a biogas plant in Sao Do farm (Moc Chau, Son La) with a digestion volume Vd = 27m 3 was completed and operated effectively, a result great encouraging for researchers, managers and ordinary people that laid an important foundation for the further development of biogas technology in Vietnam. 1

8 From 1981 to 1985 and 1986 to 1990, in two five-year plans, biogas technology was made one of the priorities of the National Research Program on new energy (code 52C). By 1990, biogas plants had been built in many provinces, most of them in the south due to the greater convenience of the region s social-economic characteristics and climate. There were about over two thousand biogas digestiors in the whole country in this period. After completion of the five-year plan, program 52C was closed. Research and development activities on new energy were not included in the national energy program, resulting in the slow development of new forms of energy. Since 1993, biogas technology has developed vigorously within the framework of sanitation, agriculture and rural development projects, with many types of new biogas digesters being developed. Colombia s plastic bag model was adopted in the SAREC-S2-VIE22 project. This project was implemented by the National Husbandry Institute, the Vietnamese Association of Horticulturists (VACVINA), the Department of Agriculture and Forestry Extension (DAFE) and the University of Agriculture and Forestry in Ho Chi Minh City. The Rural Development Assistance Centre (RDAC) has developed a fixed dome biogas plant with the lower part, previously cylindrically shaped, now being built of bricks in a cuboid shape. In addition, the Departments of Science, Technology and Environment have designed their own models, like the Departments of Phu Tho, Quang Tri, etc. During this period, there was no specialized national agency for biogas development, as biogas technology had been developed spontaneously. With the aim of managing biogas technology nationally, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) issued sectoral standards for small biogas digesters. Biogas technology has been thriving ever since the support project to a biogas program for the animal husbandry sector in Vietnam was implemented by the Livestock Production Department (under MARD) and funded by the Dutch Government. Up to now there have been over half a million biogas plants in the whole country, most of which are fixed-dome biogas digestiors (KT1, KT2), followed by composite biogas plants, but also with a few plastic-bag and recyclable-plastic digesters. The biogas technologies that have been installed in Vietnam are described in Appendix 1. 2

9 The Biogas Program for the Animal Husbandry Sector of Vietnam (BP) is being implemented by the Livestock Production Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in cooperation with the Netherlands Development Organization or SNV. The project started in 2003 with the aim of providing a solution that could transform Vietnam s waste into a sustainable source of energy for rural farmers and their families. This sustainable technology uses animal waste to replace traditional fossil fuels and firewood. One of main goals of these projects is improving the livelihoods and living standards of rural people in Vietnam through exploiting the market and non-market benefits of biogas technology at household level. Therefore, the stable development of biogas related to the market is one of the project s top priorities. The project has three phases: 1. Phase I (1/2003-1/2006): the project was implemented with a 2.5 million Euro grant from the Netherlands government and covered twelve provinces nationwide. Thai Nguyen province has been participating since this phase. 2. The bridging phase, 2006: the preparatory year for phase II. Phu Tho has joined since this phase. 3. Phase II ( ): the project will be deployed in 55 provinces and cities all over Vietnam. Vinh Phuc and Bac Giang have taken part in this phase since Phase III ( ): this phase focuses on the development of market-oriented sustainable biogas in 45 provinces and cities with the goal of supporting the construction of 100,000 biogas plants in households, at the same time supporting the institutionalization of some contents. This phase is related to the biogas field in the livestock sector. By the end of 2014, the project had supported the construction of 145,000 biogas plants, trained 1,064 provincial and district technicians and 1,668 biogas masons, and organized thousands of promotional workshops. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people have been trained to use biogas. Each household that installs a biogas plant and has it checked by a qualified technician will receive VND 1,200,000 in subsidies. According to calculations, the project provides a clean energy equivalent of 2,800 TJ a year, capable of replacing 245,000 tons of agricultural waste used in cooking, 326,000 tons of firewood, 36,000 tons of coal, 6,593 tons of kerosene, 39,405 MWh and 4,677 tons of LPG. The project also contributes to livestock waste disposal, reduces firewood use, improves public health and reduces the workloads of women and children. 3

10 The project was awarded the 2006 Energy Global Prize in Brussels, Belgium, a prestigious award given to projects recognized as making an outstanding contribution to reducing global warming. In 2010, the project was awarded the Ashden Sustainable Energy Award in London for its innovative approach in tackling the twin problems of dangerous cooking practices and untreated animal waste. The project was also awarded the Humanitarian Award for 2012 for its outstanding socio-economic and environmental impacts. The Quality and Safety Enhancement of Agricultural Products and Biogas Development (QSEAP) refers to a loan sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The Project was aimed to achieve sustainable growth in vegetable, fruit and tea production, and contributed to: (i) increasing incomes and livelihood opportunities in the agricultural sector; (ii) improving people s health and labor productivity with improvements in food safety in primary production and processing; and (iii) supporting biogas development to supply clean energy to households and reducing agro-product safety and health hazards from livestock waste in the project s designated sixteen provinces. The project was implemented during a six-year period from June 2009 to June 2015 and deployed in sixteen provinces and cities: Bac Giang, Ben Tre, Binh Thuan, Da Nang, Hanoi, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh, Lam Dong, Ninh Thuan, Phu Tho, Son La, Thai Nguyen, Tien Giang, Vinh Phuc and Yen Bai. The project had four components: 5. Component 1: Improve Regulatory Framework and Fully Operational Quality and Safety System for Agro-Products. The objective of this component is to improve the institutional and regulatory frameworks to ensure the safe production, processing and distribution of agricultural products. 6. Component 2: Infrastructure and facilities for quality and safe agro-products. The target of this component is to ensure the safety of agricultural products, to increase productivity and to reduce post-harvest losses resulting from inadequate public infrastructure, thereby improving the quality and safety of agro-products and advancing the management capacity of provincial-level state agencies involved in food-safety activities at the provincial, enterprise and household levels. 7. Component 3: Development of biogas program. This component aims to reduce the risks of livestock waste in agricultural areas, thereby minimizing negative impacts on the environment and pollution that affects the quality and safety of agricultural products in the project area. In addition to protecting the environment, this component also has a positive influence on public health, as it helps reduce agricultural contamination caused by animal waste. The development of the biogas 4

11 program also supports the improvement of livelihoods and household energy savings by providing alternative clean energy sources for cooking and producing biofertilizer for safe agricultural products. Under this component, each biogas household has received a subsidy of 1.2 million VND/digestion. In total, the project had supported 20,000 households, 12,000 of them so they can borrow credit for the construction of biogas plants through two financial institutions. 8. Component 4: Project Management Support. Under this component, a project management unit and provincial project management units were established to carry out the task of coordinating, managing and supervising implementation of the project. The Livestock Competitiveness and Food Safety Project (LIFSAP) is a loan project of World Bank being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2010 to The project s development objective is to improve the competitiveness of household-based livestock producers by addressing the production, food-safety and environmental risks in livestock product-supply chains, aiming provide clean livestock from farms to families dinner tables in selected provinces. This objective will be actualized by providing training for household-based livestock producers according to safe livestock production processes, supporting central and local management agencies in improving food-safety standards, strengthening the capacity to test livestock products according to the sector s standards, and supporting veterinary agencies on different levels in monitoring and supervising compliance with food-safety procedures from farm to slaughterhouse to meat market. This objective is in line with the livestock production development strategy extending to The project will be implemented in twelve provinces: Ha Noi, Thai Binh, Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Cao Bang, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ho Chi Minh City, Long An, Dong Nai and Lam Dong. After five years of LCASP implementation, 11,000 pig households have implemented the VietGAP process, of which more than 9,000 households received a subsidy of VND4, 000,000/project for construction of a biogas plant. 94% of supported livestock households had improved their environment for livestock. The project has three components: 9. Component 1: Upgrading Household-Based Livestock Production and Market Integration. The purpose of this component is to improve the production effectiveness and competitiveness of households by adopting Good Animal Husbandry Practice (GAHP) in order to reduce mortality rates, reduce fattening times and increase animal herds in households. 10. Component 2: Strengthening Central-Level Livestock Production and Veterinary Services. The objective is to reduce environmental pollution caused by livestock 5

12 production by assisting household producers, slaughterhouses and meat markets in meeting environmental hygiene standards. 11. Component 3: Project Management and Monitoring and Evaluation. The target of this component is to increase livestock products that meet food-safety standards by assisting slaughterhouses and meat markets in meeting national standards on food safety. The Low Carbon Agricultural Support Project (LCASP) is a loan sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and executed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in Vietnam. The Project started in 2013 and will end on June 30, LCASP works in ten provinces, which are the direct beneficiaries: Bac Giang, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Ha Tinh, Lao Cai, Nam Dinh, Phu Tho, Soc Trang, Son La and Tien Giang. The overall objectives of this project are: (i) to develop sustainable and eco-friendly agricultural practices through promotion of the construction and replication of research pilots, as well as by driving agricultural production technology in the direction of lowering greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening resilience to climate change, the effective utilization of agriculture biomass and good management of preand post-harvest activities; and (ii) to achieve environmental pollution reductions through the development of household biogas plants to medium and large-scale biogas plants in order to generate clean energy, along with inproving incomes and living standards in rural areas. The project comprises four components 12. Component 1: Expanded use of livestock waste-management infrastructure. Under this component, the project will support the construction of 65,000 small biogas plants and 40 medium biogas plants associated with value chain infrastructure, and train 500 masons (at least 20% of trainees will be females) and 160 technicians (at least 20% of trainees will be females) in the construction, operation and environment of small biogas plants. By the end of 2016, the project had constructed more than 40,000 biogas plants, with each biogas household receiving a subsidy of 3 million VND. 13. Component 2: Credit lines for biogas value chains. The credit is being made available through two finance institutions to 65,000 households, farmers and enterprises to construct biogas digesters and environmental technology; at least 50% of the recipients of credit will be registered under husband and wife joint accounts or on behalf of women. Technical training on livestock waste management and biogas is being provided to the staff of these financal institutions. 14. Component 3: Enhanced technology transfer for climate-smart agricultural wastemanagement practices. This component will include the training and implementation of about seventy extension demonstration models for technology transfer for climate smart agricultural waste-management practices in ten project provinces, as well as 6

13 implementation of about 21 pilots and replication models for climate-smart agriculture waste-management practices. 15. Component 4: Effective project management. The project-management system will include a central project-management unit and provincial project-management units, established and operated with adequately trained staff and appropriate facilities. Assigned by Vinh Phuc PPC, the Center for Natural Resources and Environment Monitoring under the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has implemented a project to support biogas plants with a view to reducing pollution and improving the agricultural environment in the province during the period (VPBP). During the three years of implementation, the center supported 3,474 households in installing biogas digesters in nine districts of the province. These plants are eligible under Decision No. 535/ QĐ-CT dated 28/02/2013 of the Chairman of the Vinh Phuc Provincial People's Committee (each household was subsidized to the tune of 2,233,000 VND). Households receiving a subsidy had to have at least five pigs, or three to four pigs and a buffalo or cow, or three buffalos and cows, and they must not have received any subsidy from other projects previously. The program raised community awareness of the importance of environmental protection in rural livestock activities, and it also promoted biogas plants as a way of treating animal waste in order to protect the environment when producing gas for cooking in the household. According to interviewees, all the biogas projects have brought many benefits for the end users and suggested that the government should introduce more biogas projects to help livestock households and farms develop the livestock sector sustainably. The success of the biogas programmes springs from the direct benefits it brings to the daily lives of poor farming households, most importantly cleaner kitchens and the reduction of indoor air pollution. Other benefits also include money savings, reductions in the time spent searching for fuel and hence more hours available for schooling, productive activities or to socialise. The bioslurry residue, which is increasingly being used as fertilizer, boosts agricultural yields and reduces the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, thereby increasing incomes. Thai Nguyen province is in the north-east of Vietnam, adjacent to Hanoi, and is included in the Hanoi planning area. Thai Nguyen has good potential for livestock production and advantages 7

14 in developing it. Its agricultural land area is 293,378 ha (83% natural area), the rural population constitutes 71.72% of the total population and agricultural production is 21.28% (livestock production is 36.9% of agricultural production). In recent years, high productivity and quality livestock breeds have been used in combination with advanced technology to create industrialized farms and sustainable joint-venture production farms. However, the scale of livestock production is not incompatible with these initiatives because the production units involved are mainly small-scale farms run by households with low levels of efficiency and quality. Some diseases have not been controlled, and environmental pollution is more likely to happen in areas with a high density of livestock-producing households. Although livestock production in the province has therefore encountered some difficulties, value livestock production has increased significantly thanks to the adoption of a suitable investment strategy. The value of agriculture, forestry and fishery production in 2008 and in 2015 was bn VND and bn VND respectively, of which the agricultural sector experienced the highest rate of increase (14,05%/year).1 Among the districts with a high value of livestock production are Phu Binh, Pho Yen and Dai Tu. Unit: thousand head Animal Average growth (%) Buffalo Cow Pig Poultry Source: Statistical Yearbook 2010, 2015 The nnumber of buffaloes in recent years has declined considerably from thousand in 2008 to 69 thousand in 2015, on average 6.06% per year. This resulted from a severe disease that is difficult to control, damaging livestock production. Buffaloes are traditionally raised for traction purposes, but because of technical progress in cultivation, narrow plots of grazing land and a lack of land on which to grow grass, fewer people are now raising them. The number of cattle in the province is also decreasing because disease has become complicated and difficult to control, and their use as traction power for agriculture has decreased sharply. Cattle are mainly raised in Phu Binh district, which has a cattle population of of 16,375 and Pho Yen with 10,071, accounting for 75.38% of total cattle numbers in the province. Pig farming has witnessed positive changes, with intensive investments being made to create larger-scale pig farms to replace small households. Most farms are now industrialized from the construction of cages to breed selection and follow strict procedures. Poultry production 1 Thai Nguyen statistical yearbook,

15 developed quickly during , especially since 2008 because of good prevention of diseases and the presence of high-quality breeds. Poultry production has been converted to intensive farming to generate more benefits at an average development rate of 8.79% per year. 83% of Thai Nguyen s poultry production is of chicken, with goose and duck accounting for 17%. Poultry is mainly raised in the following districts: Dai Tu, Phu Binh, Pho Yen and Thai Nguyen city (66.43% of total poultry number in the province). During the period , 8186 biogas plants were constructed in Thai Nguyen, mainly under two projects: (i) Biogas Program for the Animal Husbandry Sector in Vietnam, and (ii) Quality and Safety Enhancement for Agriculture Products and Biogas Plant. Due to large-scale production, biogas plants in Thai Nguyen can be built with an average capacity of from 15 to 40m 3, with a total investment cost of from 12 to 40 million VND per plant, equivalent to million VND per m 3. Three districts have the highest number of plants: Pho Yen, Dong Hy and Phu Binh Number of constructed biogas plant of Thai Nguyen province during

16 With advantages in terms of terrain, with plains, hills and low mountains, Vinh Phuc has good potential to promote intensive husbandry production. In 2015, there were thousand buffalos/cows, thousand pigs and 8392 thousand chickens. The husbandry sector in Vinh Phuc has been transformed into large-scale farms for dairy cows, pigs and poultry. Industrialized and semi-industrialized methods are being chosen over conventional methods, thus generating more jobs and higher incomes and restructuring the agricultural sector. There are hundreds of pig farms with pigs, some sow farms with 600 pigs and some with a thousand pigs in Tam Duong district. Hundreds of households are raising dairy cows outside residential areas in Vinh Thinh commune, Vinh Tuong district. 628 farms located mainly in Tam Duong, Lap Thach and Yen Lac districts are using intensive farming methods. These farms have produced a substantial number of products; some are now focusing on expanding production scale and upgrading advanced technology such as new cages, cooling systems and biogas plants for burning gas and protecting the environment. However, livestock production in Vinh Phuc province remains mainly at the household scale. Some areas that are raising chicken (Tam Duong, Tam Dao) and dairy cows (Vinh Tuong) are developing without a strategy so the number of commodities is not very high. Government regulations and policies supporting livestock development have not been implemented, leading to difficulties in creating linkages between production and processing, as well as for environmental treatment and food safety. Provincial livestock production structure during is presented in Table 2: Unit: thousand head Animal Average growth (%) Buffalo Cow Pig Poultry Source: Statistical Yearbook 2010, 2015 The number of buffalos is quite small and fell on average by 3.06% per year in , falling in Vinh Yen City by 12.37% per year, Tam Dao by 5.18% per year and Tam Duong by 4.99% per year. The number of cows also fell during by an average of 4.7% per year. In 2007, all provinces in Vietnam were focused on raising Sind cross-breed cows, rapidly increasing the 10

17 total number of cows. In recent years, due to narrow areas for grazing, difficult conditions and modern tractor technology, the total number of cows has decreased. Among the districts with the highest rate of decrease over five years are Vinh Yen City (17.05% per year), Lap Thach (8.42% per year), Tam Duong (8.57% per year), Tam Dao (7.87% per year), Binh Xuyen (7.98% per year) and Yen Lac (14.5% per year). Pigs are a main breed of livestock with high volume outputs, ranking first in total meat production in the province (nearly 70%). Pigs are raised in all districts but concentrated especially in five : Lap Thach, Song Lo, Tam Duong, Tam Dao and Vinh Tuong. Poultry farming, especially chicken, is the real strength of Vinh Phuc province. Poultry has always come second in total meat production. During , biogas plants were built in Vinh Phuc province, of which 8666 were supported by the Biogas Program for the Animal Husbandry Sector in Vietnam and the Quality and Safety Enhancement for Agricultural Products and Biogas Plant projects. As a result, during , 3474 were installed under the program that promotes biogas plants to reduce pollution and improve the rural environment in the province. Vinh Tuong, Tam Duong, Song Lo and Lap Thach are the districts with the highest number of biogas plants. According to the Biogas User Survey for 2009, which addressed the Biogas Program for the Animal Husbandry Sector in Vietnam, biogas tanks built in Vinh Phuc province have an average volume of 14.9m3 at a construction cost of 0.6 million/m 3. Number of constructed biogas digestion of Vinh Phuc,

18 Given its advantagous land conditions, Phu Tho has great potential to develop concentrated animal husbandry. At the same time, links have been formed between livestock farmers and businesses, and between the production and consumption of products. 24 enterprises such as Dabaco, CP, RTD, ĐTK and Hoa Phat have been investing in livestock development. There are hundreds of pig farms, chicken farms with 50 sows, and units with 5000 chickens and more. The effective farming method has achieved high results, created high volumes of goods, restructured agriculture and the rural economy in the direction of greater sustainability, and increased added value in production. However, as livestock production in the province is mainly small in scale, being concentrated in households and farms without planning, a large product area has not been established. Since then, the policy for infrastructural investment has not been used to create a chain of linkages between production, processing, consumption and waste treatment in order to ensure food safety. During , livestock production played an important role in Phu Tho province, contributing to the GDP of the agricultural sector. In 2008, the livestock sector accounted for 34.%, by 2015 increasing to 46.6% in value added in the agricultural sector. The total output of livestock, especially of pigs and chickens, has increased rapidly to meet the demand for meat and eggs from local people and other provinces such as Yen Bai, Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang and Hanoi. The four main types of livestock in Phu Tho are cattle, pigs, poultry and buffaloes. However, the scale of livestock and poultry production is not stable and investment in it risky because the market for livestock products is unstable. People raise livestock by trend, and the disease situation is complicated. Unit: thousand head Animal Average growth (%) Buffalo Cow Pig Poultry Source: Statistical Yearbook 2010, Over the past eight years, the number of buffaloes has seen a downward trend, decreasing by 3.58% per annum. Buffalo farming has traditionally been dominated by households with one or two head, with grazing as the main method of farming. Buffaloes are suitable for some ecological areas (cool weather with rivers and lagoons), but investment costs are high, and it 12

19 takes time to make profit. Meanwhile, as the mechanization of agriculture increases, buffaloes are being replaced as draught animals by ploughs, harrows and small trucks, now only being raised for their meat. During , the number of cow herds has become unstable and seems to be falling. In 2015, the number of cows in the province ranked third in the Capital Region and fifth in the North Midland and Mountain regions, but they represented the second largest output after Hanoi. The total number of pigs in the province ranked third in the Capital Region in terms of total stock and volume, and ranked second in the North Midland and Mountain Regions. Poultry production has a high growth rate, with an average rate of increase of 3.12% per year from 2008 to In recent years, Phu Tho has created some breeding areas with semiindustrial and animal husbandry techniques, located in Tam Nong and Phu Ninh districts with a regular scale of over 1,000-10,000 chickens/household. Duck- and goose-breeding are mainly small in scale, located mainly in Thanh Thuy, Thanh Son, Doan Hung, Cam Khe and Yen Lap districts. To reduce animal waste and protect the environment, Phu Tho province has introduced many methods of treating animal waste, such as the construction of biogas tanks and biocomposting. From 2008 to 2015, 9,704 biogas tanks were installed, mainly in Doan Hung, Ha Hoa and Thanh Ba districts. According to a report on the construction, installation and environmental quality of small-, medium- and large-scale biogas plants, solutions proposed for the comprehensive management of animal wastes under the Low-carbon Agriculture Support Project carried out in 2015 show that the smallest size of biogas plant ranges from 9.7m 3 to 11.3m 3 and the largest is 23.7m 3, with an average cost of from to million VND/m 3. Number of constructed biogas plant of Phu Tho province during

20 The Bac Giang livestock sector is developing in order to contribute to the provincial value of the agricultural sector and is always among the first provinces to do so in Vietnam. In 2015 the total number of cows and buffaloes was 191,690 thousand, and of poultry million. The district has a total meat output of 197 thousand tons, accounting for 4.61% total national meat output. Livestock products have been consumed in Bac Giang and other provinces such as Hanoi, Quang Ninh and Hai Phong. Changes have occurred in livestock production due to the establishment of large-scale farms. Modern technologies have been applied in breeding and raising livestock in order to increase productivity and efficiency, control disease, protect the environment, ensure food safety, cater to market demand and generate incomes for rural households. However, livestock farming in Bac Giang is still small in scale and at the household level, with a small number of farms. There has been some progress, but it is quite spontaneous, due to the absence of a provincial strategy and policy or of investment to create larger volumes of output and linkages between production, processing and consumption Unit: thousand head Animal Average Buffalo growth (%) Cow Pig Poultry Source: Statistical Yearbook 2010, 2015 During , the livestock production sector in Bac Giang was restructured as follows: - During this time, most cattle production was falling because tractors were gradually replacing them as draught animals. Besides, the pastures along the forest were being used for planting or being converted into arable land. As plots of land are becoming narrower, the total number of buffaloes and cows is falling dramatically. 14

21 - Pig farming in the province has increased due to the shift from small livestock to larger scale farms. Pig-farming is mainly located in Tan Yen, Lang Giang, Viet Yen and Luc Ngan districts. Due to the strong development of livestock, some main livestock areas have been established, but most households are still raising animals individually, so the scale of units is small and their distribution scattered. - Poultry is mainly concentrated in districts of Yen The, Tan Yen, Luc Ngan, Luc Nam, Hiep Hoa and Lang Giang. Ducks are mainly raised in Lang Giang, Hiep Hoa and Yen The. The total number of households raising chicken in Bac Giang province is 237,387, accounting for 83.7% of agricultural production households and 63.47% of total rural households. During , Bac Giang participated in three projects (i) Biogas Program for the Animal Husbandry Sector of Vietnam (ii) Quality and Safety Enhancement of Agricultural Products and Biogas Development and (iii) the Low-carbon Agriculture Support Project Number of constructed biogas plant of Bac Giang province during Hiep Hoa, Lang Giang, Yen The and Viet Yen are the districts with the largest numbers of biogas plants, accounting for nearly 70% of biogas plants built in the province. Most biogas plants have been built under KT1 and KT2. According to a biogas user survey conducted in 2008 by a biogas project in the livestock sector, biogas tanks built in Bac Giang have an average volume of 13 cubic meters, with a cost of 0.62 million VND/m 3. According to a report on the construction, installation and environmental quality of small-, medium- and large-scale biogas plants, proposed solutions for the comprehensive management of animal wastes under the Low-carbon Agriculture Support Project carried out in 2015 show that the smallest size of biogas plant is 7m 3 and the largest is 23.7m 3, at an average cost of 0.93 million VND per 1m 3. 15

22 Agricultural production is playing a leading role in Vietnam. Livestock and poultry production have been gradually changing in scale from household to farm. Along with the development of the livestock sector, biogas technology has helped livestock farmers treat animal waste and provide clean energy to the community. Using biogas technology is an effective solution to the problems of supplying energy and reducing environmental pollution in the countryside. Livestock development had many negative impacts on the environment, such as soil, air and groundwater pollution, degraded soil quality, loss of biodiversity and climate change. Many studies have shown that biogas waste-treatment models can bring economic, environmental and social benefits to livestock producers, such as reducing the work and time needed for people to collect or buy fuel for cooking. According to the biogas user survey carried out by the biogas project in the livestock sector in 2014, the installation of biogas plants have a positive impact on biogas users, especially in creating a clean environment, for example, by reducing the odour from the feeding cages and improving the cooking environment. In addition, operating the biogas also saves 21 days of work a year. With these benefits, biogas plants are seen as a technology that can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by virtue of three factors: - Waste management. Organic waste in natural conditions will be degraded. Some of these substances will dissolve the anaerobic gas and release CH 4 emissions into the atmosphere. CH 4 is more of greenhouse gas than CO 2: 1 ton of CH 4 is equivalent to 21 tons of CO 2 in respect of its greenhouse effect. - Replacing fossil fuels. Using biogas to replace fossil fuels (coal, oil, liquefied petroleum gas) for electricity generation will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. - Replacing some chemical fertilizer. Using biogas plant byproduct as a fertilizer to reduce the use of chemical fertilizer also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To support the development of biogas plants, the government has issued many policies and mechanisms to create incentives for biogas development, including Decision No. 50/2014/QD- TTg dated 4 September 2014 on the policy to support increasing farmers productivity for the period According to this decision, each livestock household is provided with a onetime allowance of up to 50% of biogas plant value for livestock waste disposal, with the support level not exceeding VND 5,000,000/ plant / household. Although biogas plants have benefited many users, "only 0.3% of farms have installed biogas models for animal waste treatment." This figure is very modest compared to the number of breeding farms in 2015 (15,068 breeding farms). 16

23 Among the general barriers are the following: There is currently no legal document, institutional framework or policy specifically regulating the development of biogas plants at farm scale. While other renewable energy projects such as small hydropower, wind power and biomass have benefited from such policies, electricity generated from animal waste and waste-water treatment still has no supporting framework. Legal documents, standards and technical regulations on environmental protection in animal husbandry, slaughtering and drug production have been added to but are incomplete. Compared to other countries in the region, Vietnam s legal documents on veterinary medicine do not provide detailed and specific information, and they often have fewer regulations than international regulations. There are no penalties for environmental pollution in the livestock sector, and legal documents are not widely disseminated to the public. The management system is still inadequate. At present, there is no organization managing the environmental protection work of the Department of Animal Health and Livestock in the provinces. As staff involved in environmental matters are not qualified and have not been professionally trained, they have encountered many difficulties in carrying out their work. Infrastructure and equipment have been invested, but there are still many shortages. In addition, the number of specialized inspectors in environmental protection in rural areas is inadequate, while farms and households are widespread in the area. Awareness at all levels of environmental protection in livestock production is also inadequate and not specific. Biogas is a renewable form of energy that is managed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade; however, in practice, the development of biogas models for livestock waste disposal is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Therefore, it is not clear which focal agency is responsible for the management of this sector, causing competition, exaggerated propaganda claims and confusion for farmers. Although there are many types of biogas plants suitable for the farm scale such as plastic tanks, concrete tanks and composite tanks, these technologies have not been fully developed. Prior to 2011, biogas plant types KT1 and KT2 with fixed caps were approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (10TCN 97: ). Once the Law on Standards and Regulations comes into effect, industry standards will no longer be valid. Since then, no sectoral or Vietnam standards for biogas technology have been issued. In addition, although the scale of livestock production is gradually turning to farm production, the volume of most biogas plants is currently less than 50m 3, too small to treat livestock waste. In reality, there is a lack of suitable biogas technology for the treatment of farm-scale animal waste: a lack of goodquality biogas equipment, a lack of a national standard system for biogas, a lack of facilities and the lack of a service delivery network (technical consultancy, equipment supply). Although the rate of subsidy is 5,000,000 VND/plant under Decision No. 50/2014/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, this rate changes depending on the financial situation of each province. 17

24 Therefore, not all provinces can provide subsidies to farmers. In addition, this amount of subsidy is not enough to install biogas plants at the farm scale. One hundred percent of the farms surveyed said that they were using biogas to replace other fuels (liquefied gas, firewood, coal, electricity) for cooking and lighting. The benefits are evident, but this does not fully utilize the potential of biogas. In fact, we can also use biogas to run water heaters and generators, and to replace gasoline and diesel oil to run internal combustion engines, though this will require mechanical improvements. For example, to use biogas instead of oil in some machines, carburetor refinements or fuel supply systems, filtration systems, etc. should be changed. However, these options are not currently available, and their quality is not guaranteed. This explains why many farms with biogas plants only use biogas for cooking. Due to the lack of livestock planning from the beginning, many livestock and slaughterhouses are located in residential areas with small-scale and scattered production, along with low profit, uncertain price and an unstable market. Therefore, investment in environmental treatment in the animal husbandry sector is very low and difficult. The sustainable development of livestock is also difficult due to the ongoing disease outbreak and fluctuating prices; thus, farmers need access to financial support. However, access to capital is very difficult because a land-use right certificate is required as collateral. According to Article 9 of Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP of June 9, 2015 on credit policies in the service of rural and agricultural development, the lending mechanism for commercial banks is laid down as follows: customers who borrow without collateral must submit a credit institution certificate of land-use right or a certificate of land-use right without dispute issued by the commune s People s Committee. This regulation is one of the greatest obstacles households face in accessing the capital to develop biogas plants. Besides the usual difficulties, the four mountainous northern provinces have yet other difficulties of their own, such as: - Livestock size is small, the price of livestock always fluctuates, and the livestock-raising scale of farm households depends greatly on the market price of feed, input materials and output production. Therefore, livestock-producing households are not willing to construct biogas digesters. - The awareness of local people regarding the issue of environmental protection is still limited, especially among many ethnic minorities in the northern mountainous provinces. Therefore, promoting and mobilizing local farmers to apply environmentally friendly solutions is difficult. - Due to the hilly terrain, transportation of materials is very difficult, resulting in high construction costs. This explains why local people are unable to afford the biogas digester installation. 18

25 To encourage livestock-producing households and farms to install biogas digesters to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, some solutions have been devised for biogas plant development as follows: The government should develop mechanisms and policies to support the development of renewable energy in general and biogas in particular as follows: - Develop a Renewable Energy Law to facilitate the legal basis and policies for renewable energy development. - Establish a Renewable Energy Development Fund. The Fund will ensure transparency and equality in renewable energy development. In order to operate effectively, the fund must have a secure and fixed source of money to provide investors with a basis for obtaining loans. Finance for the fund is based on the state budget, carbon taxes, environmental taxes on fossil fuels, etc. The level of funding must ensure that the proposed renewable energy development goal is met. The main functions of this fund are to: + Support grid-connected electricity generation from renewable energy which has a higher price than imported electricity; + Support RE projects that are not connected to the national grid (initial investment, maintenance, etc.) + Support research and development activities, as well as the renewable energy database; + Support the development of mechanisms and policies to encourage renewable energy - Develop policies and regulations regarding credit incentives for livestock farms, as well as implementation of the financial component (loans and loan insurance) to support the development of biogas plants, especially among ethnic minorities, with biogas models and continue investing in systems of electricity generation. At the same time, encourage investors to invest in biogas systems to treat waste and wastewater, as well as electricity and the grid system, to promote the benefits of biogas plants. - Use direct policy methods to encourage institutions to invest in biogas models, and especially to support ethnic minorities to develop sustainable livestock in association with environmental protection through price incentives such as the provision of preferential loans at low interest rates or tax credits. Create a sustainable market for carbon stocks through a greenhouse gas emissions reduction/greenhouse gas program adapted to national conditions, and establishing a list of priority projects for investment. Support the process of project preparation and construction. - Support research and technology transfer from advanced countries to produce products using renewable energy biogas plants. 19

26 - Improve the state management system of environmental protection in order to meet the requirements of such management protection. It will be necessary to assign and decentralize the functions of ministries and local departments in the management of environmental protection in the agriculture husbandry sector; establish agricultural and rural environmental monitoring functions under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; and, at the district level, to establish a full-time staff to monitor the management of agriculture and rural environments under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. - Increase the number and capacity of professional organizations specializing in environmental protection at the ministry and provincial levels, as well as commune-level environmental officers. - Strengthen the coordination of environmental management among related units, especially between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. - Develop quality standards for renewable energy equipment in general and biogas plants in particular. - Monitor and issue quality certificates for biogas equipment to minimize imports of lowquality equipment and improve the quality of renewable energy services. - Encourage the research, development, improvement and transfer of biogas technology and biogas appliances. - Support investment for different forms of biogas energy with credit lines, subsidies and incentives in order to meet long-term development objectives on the basis of guaranteeing the recovery of capital and reasonable profits for investors. - Support the development and use of renewable energy heating and living goals. - Facilitate the design and implementation of financial products to reduce the risk of private investment such as insurance for renewable energy projects. - Utilize foreign investment for climate finance when other sources are limited. - Reduce natural resource tax on RE project. 20

27 - Disseminate and update policy to maintain transparency and credibility in order to attract potential domestic investors. - Encourage and provide technical support for development by people and communities, as well as scaling up biogas plants in households and livestock farms. - Develop communication documents in multiple languages and using vivid images. Over the past few years, the livestock sector in Vietnam has developed significantly, and the production value proportion of livestock in agriculture is also increasing. However, according to the current trend towards integration, indicating that the domestic animal husbandry industry is continuing to face many difficulties, some provinces have set up livestock development plans for sustainable development. Two northern mountain provinces, Thai Nguyen and Vinh Phuc, have approved livestock development plans up to Bac Giang has approved a livestock development plan up to 2020 with vision to 2030, and Phu Tho province has now already adopted livestock development but is currently waiting for approval. 21

28 Table 5. Livestock development master plan of some northern mountain provinces Decision Target until 2020 Solution Thai Nguyen (Decision 628/QĐ- UBND date 3/4/2013 Provincial People Committee approving livestock development master plan in Thai Nguyen during ) Vinh Phuc Decision 3309/QĐ- UBND date 11/11/2014 by Provincial People Committee approving livestock production master in communes and important areas of Vinh Phuc toward In total there are 65,000 buffalos; 30,000 cows; 800,000 pigs; 13,000 chickens; total production is 156, Animal husbandry increases by 10% on average every year; by 2020, the province will have 920 farms; - Livestock production will be restructured by scale: pig farming in household sector accounts for 50%; farm and household scale account for 30%; poultry farming in household sector accounts for 35%; farm and household scale account for 65%. - To reduce environmental pollution in livestock production, 100% of pig farms and households will have biogas digesters. - The total number of pigs in 33 key communes is expected to reach 512 thousand. Of which: the total number of sow pigs are expected to be 80.8 thousand, the total number of boars 1.38 thousand, the total number of hogs thousand. - Total number of poultry is planned to reach 11 million (increase of 0.7 million compared to 2015) in 2020, and the figure in key communes (38 communes) will be 8.5 million (77.27% of number of poultry). - By 2020, total number of cow will be 94.2 thousand head, of which the total number in the key communes (21 communes) is expected to reach thousand (accounting for 44.77% of planning area) - By 2020: number of dairy cows is expected to reach 14,222 head in 22 communes. - Reduce environmental pollution in livestock production, by % of farms and household have biogas digesters. - Large-scale animal husbandry farms need to combine biogas treatment and compost, medium and small-scale farms should have biogas plants, and households need a compost tank before using animal waste as fertilizer. - Treatment of animal waste by biological substance TBE2 showed decreased temperature in the cage, higher resistance in cattle and poultry, along with lower morbidity and mortality compared to no TBE2. - Apply livestock waste treatment technology and use livestock waste for biogas plant and biofertilizer production. - For concentrated livestock farms, biogas digesters are an effective way to treat waste and make good use of fuel. - For small-scale livestock producers, liquid waste storage tanks and compost pits must be built. - All livestock households are given a priority in borrowing from the Livestock Development Program of the province and the Environment Fund of the province. - Producers with 20 sows or 200 hogs or more will be provided with 20 million VND, equivalent to 20% of the construction cost of waste treatment system. - Pig farmers on a smaller scale or buffalo/cow farmers will be subsidized when implementing biogas plants according to Decision 27/2011/NQ- HĐND date 19/12/2011 by PPC. 22

29 Phu Tho Official letter No.92/KH-UBND dated 08 January, 2014 for Action plan to implement project Restructuring the agricultural sector towards higher added value and sustainable development up to 2020 of Phu Tho province. Bac Giang Decision 120/QĐ- UBND date 25/01/2014 by Provincial People Committee approving Livestock production master plan of Bac Giang until 2020 and toward thousand buffalos, 110 thousand cows, 860 thousand pigs and 13.2 million chickens; - Attract firms to invest in livestock production with high technology; - Maintain and develop 447 farms, including 68 cow farms; 210 pig farms; 169 chicken farms; - Promote household livestock production toward industrial scale with monitoring activities, advanced technologies and environmental sustainability. - 60,000 buffalos, 120,000 cows, 1,400,000 pigs and 18,000 chicken - Traditional poultry production will reach 37.38% by 2020, and traditional pig production reach 38.4%. - By 2020 there will be 744 farms, including 324 chicken farms and 420 pig farms. - The proportion of poultry farms by farm size reaches 27.0% of the total poultry number and proportion of pig on a farm-byfarm scale reaches 21.0% of the total pig number. - By 2020, 91 livestock zones will be established. - Small-scale farming is still located in residential area until 2020, but environment issues and food safety are under control. - Apply advanced technology in breeding facilities (cages, closed cells), integrated disease prevention, use of herbs in food, etc. Apply good production process and breeding with biological safety, VietGAP standards; - Apply technology of waste treatment in processing, slaughtering and raising livestock to ensure environmental sanitation such as: biogas, HDPE technology; compost; bioproducts to make biological bedding, bio-products to treat water to increase resistance of animals and to improve the environment. - Promote livestock production zone with waste treatment system to reduce environmental pollution. - Gradually control small-scale livestock production in residential area and control surrounding area. - Treat liquid waste by aeration tank system, sedimentation tanks and ponds before discharging into environment. - Solid waste treatment: construction of anaerobic plant to make fertilizer by composting. - Invest in biogas plant for farms and livestock production on biological bedding program. 23

30 The potential for biogas is large, but it has not been fully exploited as yet. Small biogas plants (average tank size smaller than 50m 3 ) are currently being used by household scale farms throughout the country totaling more than a million. Medium and large-scale farms have started to develop the biogas model due to the urgent need to address pollution from animal waste. According to the report on the RE master plan in the Red River Delta and the Northern Midlands up to 2020 and with vision to 2030, issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in 2012, only 0.3% of the total of 17,000 farms across the country are using biogas plants. According to the national strategy on the supply of clean water and environmental sanitation, about 45% of farms will have a waste management system in place by 2020, especially biogas plants for animal waste treatment. Therefore, in practice, the development of biogas plants is currently limited, and there is still a big gap compared with the set target. Along with the development of the national economy, the livestock sector is expected to grow by 2-3% per year. The potential for biogas recovery from this source is about 11 billion m 3 ; at the moment, there are about 4 million m 3 of biogas (including household and farm size), of which only 3% is being recovered and utilized.2 It is expected that by 2020, there will be about 8 million m 3 of biogas and by 2030 about 60 million m 3. Despite the livestock development strategy being put forward by some mountain provinces aiming for 100% of livestock households having biogas tanks by 2020, taking all factors into account, such as socio-economic development, current biogas digestion development and the financial resources of households in each province, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has developed a master plan for renewable energy development in the northern region to 2020, as shown in the following table. 2 Project on Renewable Energy Development Strategy up to 2030 with a Vision to

31 Household scale Farm scale No. Province Potential livestock household Estimated household digestion Potential livestock farm Estimated farm digestion Total 1 Thai Nguyen 130,000 12, ,433 2 Vinh Phuc 145,000 12, ,255 3 Phu Tho 150,000 14, ,641 4 Bac Giang 194,697 12, ,320 5 Total 619,697 52,139 2,158 1,510 53,669 Source: Report Renewable Energy Development master plan for the Red River Delta and the Northern to 2020 with a vision to 2030 Biogas in Vietnam is mainly a story of the success of small domestic digesters. However, a feed-in tariff for electricity generated by biogas plants could soon lead to larger scale use of the technology, providing new sources of income for farmers. Even though small-scale biogas digestion now has some support from the Vietnamese government, it remains very difficult to implement because of fluctuations in livestock prices and high investment costs. Consequently, livestock-producing households have not wanted to build biogas digesters. To promote RE in general and biogas in particular, and specially to support the four northern mountain provinces to increase the number of biogas digesters, an implementation plan is being proposed, as set out in the table below. 25

32 No Activity Entity/agency responsible 1 Development and improvement policy and mechanism Develop Renewable Energy Law Establish the Renewable Energy Development Fund Develop a credit incentive to support development biogas plants Use direct policy tools to encourage institutions to invest in biogas models Support for research and technology transfer regarding biogas technology and equipment National Assembly MOIT/MOF MOF/MOIT, MARD MOIT/MOF MOST/MOIT MARD, PPC Explanation 2 Complete environment management system in livestock sector Improve the state management system on environmental protection Assign and decentralize functions of ministries and local departments in managing environmental protection and in agriculture husbandry sector Strengthen the coordination of environmental management among related units, especially between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MONRE/MOIT, MARD MONRE/MOIT, MARD MARD, MONRE Develop an RE law to encourage and promote RE development Set up an RE development fund to mobilize financial sources in order to support RE development Develop policies and regulations for credit incentives for pig farms and the implementation of the financial component (loans and loan insurance). Develop policy tools to promote development of biogas digestion Call for research and technology transfer from advanced countries to produce products using renewable energy biogas plants Support the design and implementation of MRV system and review existing regulation for liquid livestock waste Establish livestock environmental monitoring functions under the DONRE and DARD; at the district level Closely coordinate between MONRE and MARD, DONRE and DARD for support livestock waste management as well as monitoring GHG emission Time frame

33 3 Develop and improve biogas technology Develop quality standards of renewable energy equipment in general and biogas plants in particular Monitor and issue quality certificates for biogas equipment Encourage the research, development, improvement and transfer of biogas technology and biogas appliances MOIT/MARD, MOST MOIT/MOST MOIT/MARD Establish national quality standard to control the quality of specific biogas technology as well as biogas equipment Regularly conduct quality control field research to monitor and issue quality certificate for biogas equipment As a focal point, to conduct R&D activities to improve and transfer biogas technology for equipment 4 Support for investment and development of renewable energy in general and biogas in particular Support investment in different forms of renewable energy Support the development and use of renewable energy for heating and living purposes Facilitate the design and implementation of financial products to reduce the risks of private investment by offering insurance for renewable energy projects Take advantage of foreign investment in climate finance Reduce natural resource tax for RE project MOIT/MOF, MARD MOIT/ MARD MOF/MOIT, MARD MPI/MOIT, MARD MOF, MOIT, MARD, MONRE Set up transparent investment procedures to attract investors Encourage end-users to utilize the produced biogas Develop incentive mechanism for pig farms and implementation of the financial component to reduce the risk Call and manage international funding for climate finance Check and adjust natural resource tax for RE project 5 Capacity-building for society regarding biogas plant development and implementation Disseminate and update policy to maintain transparency and credibility on biogas information Encourage and provide technical support for people and communities to develop and scale up biogas plants Develop communication document in multiple languages and using vivid images. MOIT/ MARD, MONRE MOIT/ MARD MOIT/ MARD, MONRE, PPC Conduct activities for dissemination policies on RE and biogas Provide technical support for developing biogas technology Develop communication documents to popularize RE and biogas technology 27

34 To encourage biogas development, some priority activities should be carried out in the short term, such as: (i) developing credit incentives to support the development of biogas plants; (ii) encouraging research, development, improvement and transfers of biogas technology and biogas appliances; and (iii) developing a communication document in multiple languages and using vivid images. A detailed implementation plan is set out below. No. Priority activity Why it is important 1 Develop credit incentives to support development of biogas plants 2 Encourage research, development, improvement and transfers of biogas technology and biogas appliances 3 Develop communication document in multiple languages and using vivid images To encourage livestock households/farms to apply the biogas model. To help livestock households/farms select the best technology suitable for breeding scale To advise livestock households/farms to use biogas technology for livestock waste treatment Who should do it MOIT, MARD, MOF MOIT,MARD, MOST MOIT, MARD, MONRE, PPC How they should do it Conduct study to revise and approve credit incentives to support biogas technology To conduct the R&D activities to improve and transfer biogas technology for equipment Provide technical support for developing biogas technology Who should implement MRV MOIT, MARD Estimated cost (USD) 300,000 MOIT, MOST 1,000,000 MOIT, MARD 1,000,000 4 Total 2,300,000 28

35 Biogas technology is assessed as contributing to GHG emissions reductions in three ways: - Substitution of fossil fuels and non-renewable biomass - Changing manure management modalities - Substitution of chemical fertilizers Biogas & Greenhouse Gas Reduction Biogas plants change traditional manure management Biogas substitutes conventional domestic energy sources - Bio-slurry can substitute chemical fertilizer The domestic fuel mix of rural households in developing countries typically includes a significant amount of fossil fuel (kerosene, coal, LPG) and biomass (fuelwood, charcoal, dung cakes). The combustion of these traditional energy sources creates carbon-dioxide emissions, and to a lesser extent CH 4 and nitrous oxide (N 2O) emissions. Fossil fuels, by definition, are non-renewable sources of energy. Hence, the full amount of GHG emissions resulting from the combustion of these energy sources results in a net increase of GHG in the atmosphere. In the case of biomass, however, the situation is less straightforward. When the burned biomass is obtained from renewable sources (agricultural waste, dungcakes), the carbon dioxide produced is absorbed by the vegetation from which it originates. Therefore, carbon dioxide emissions from renewable biomass do not contribute to the net GHG concentration in the atmosphere. Biomass obtained from non-renewable sources (referred to as Non-Renewable Biomass, NRB) does, by contrast, contribute to global 29

36 warming. NRB includes fuelwood and charcoal, whose harvesting will result in a reduction of the forested area and also in a reduction of this area s carbon sink function. Regarding the extent to which biogas replaces fossil fuels or non-renewable biomass, this substitution then results in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Traditional modalities of manure management may include the storage or discharge of animal dung under (semi-)anaerobic conditions, e.g. through deep pit storage or the discharge of raw manure into sewage channels or lagoons. The anaerobic condition will cause the manure to part-ferment, in which case methane (CH 4), a potent greenhouse gas, is emitted into the environment. In a domestic biogas installation, the manure is immediately discharged in the installation. In the plant, the fermentation of the manure takes place under controlled conditions, whereby the methane gas that is generated is captured and used for cooking. Technically, this process is referred to as methane capture and destruction, whereby the potent CH 4 is converted into carbon-dioxide (CO 2) and water. Although CO 2 is a greenhouse gas, it is far less potent than CH 4 and, more importantly, can be considered renewable, as the CO 2 is absorbed by the growth of the vegetation from which it originates. Many developing countries face a net outflow of soil nutrients as farmers apply chemical fertilizers to maintain the fertility of their soil. Although chemical fertilizer use in developing countries often is erratic and scattered, typically a fair amount of chemical fertilizer is applied. The production as well as application of chemical fertilizers has a GHG aspect, mainly as a result of the high energy requirements of chemical fertilizer production (often sourced from fossil fuels) and the nitrous oxide (N 2O) emissions that result. The by-product of a biogas installation is bio-slurry, a digested manure that is discharged from the installation after the fermentation process. The fermentation process does not reduce the nutrient value (NPK value) of the feeding material. In fact, when applied correctly, the fertilizing value of bio-slurry even surpasses that of raw manure. Therefore, bio-slurry is a good organic fertilizer that can replace or reduce the application of chemical fertilizer, in turn reducing GHG emissions. However, due to the lack of data, and for reasons of simplification, the emission reductions achieved by fertilizer substitution will not be accounted for, increasing the conservative nature of the calculations. In addition, some households will use biogas for to heat water and stables and generate electricity. The emission reductions from the displacement of grid electricity by these activities will not be accounted for, which is also conservative. 30

37 This methodology is applicable to programs or activities introducing technologies and/or practices that reduce or displace greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the thermal energy consumption of households and non-domestic premises. Examples of these technologies include the introduction of improved biomass or fossil-fuel cook stoves, ovens, dryers, space and water heaters (solar and otherwise), heat retention cookers, solar cookers and biodigesters. The IPCC s Tier 1 approach has been adopted for assessing the baseline emissions from animal waste management systems (AWMS). This approach is followed due to the lack of local data required to estimate the methane emissions factor per category of livestock. A number of ssurvey on AWMS have been conducted, but the manure management categories identified were not comparable with the IPCC 2006 Manure Management System (MS) categories. In addition, animal waste is partly collected for utilization. Under these conditions, the applied methodology allows for a baseline emissions estimate using the IPCC Tier 1 approach, which is conservative. Project emissions from AWMS, however, will be estimated using the IPCC s Tier 2 approaches. There are two climate zones in Vietnam: temperate for the provinces with average annual temperatures 25 degrees or lower, and warm for those with above 25 degrees Celsius. Four northern mountain provinces have average annual temperatures of about C to 25 0 C, their average temperature being C. Emissions reductions are calculated based on the difference between the baseline emissions and the project emissions. This project includes two sources of emissions reduction: 16. Displacement of non-renewable biomass and fossil fuels; 17. Avoidance of methane emissions from AWMS. As described above, the GHG emissions under the baseline condition include two sources: 18. CO 2, CH 4 and N 2O emissions from the combustion of non-renewable cooking and lighting fuels; 19. CH 4 emissions from the animal waste management system. Total average baseline emissions per household are calculated as the sum of the total of CO 2 emissions by the pre-project and the baseline emissions from the animal waste handling. The formula for calculating this parameter is presented in Part 1 of Appendix 2. According to the methodology, the baseline emissions caused by the consumption of fuel to satisfy thermal energy demand can be determined in three separate ways: 20. Pre-project situation 21. Project-level energy service demand using a fossil fuel and appliance as in a situation of satisfied demand 22. Satisfied demand with fossil-fuel mix and technology different from pre-project Of the three baseline options, Option 1 has been chosen, which is conservative. 31

38 A baseline scenario (BE) is defined by the typical baseline fuel consumption patterns in a population that adopts the project technology. Hence, this target population is a representative baseline for the project activity. The baseline scenario is defined by means of the typical fuel consumption among the target population prior to adopting the project technology. Hence, this target population is a representative baseline for the project activity. Baseline emissions comprise of two sources: (i) thermal energy use: CO 2, CH 4 and N 2O emissions from the combustion of non-renewable cooking and lighting fuels. The fuels include LPG, charcoal, coal, firewood, agricultural residues and kerosene; and (ii) CH 4 emissions from the animal waste management system (AWMS). The baseline from AWMS is the methane emissions from the animal manure management systems that result from the anaerobic biodegradation of volatile solid. The baseline studies executed are: 23. Baseline non-renewable biomass assessment; 24. Fuel data collection by each household that installs a biogas plant. The data used to calculate baseline emissions is based on a 2012 biogas user survey implemented by the Biogas Program for the Animal Husbandry Sector in Vietnam. Under this project, the hemispherical fixed dome plants are made on site, entirely out of brick. The materials required for construction, including bricks, cement, iron bars, fitting materials etc. are all locally manufactured. Basic appliances, which are also widely available, consist of gas pipes, main valves, stoves and gas lamps. Biogas plants will be installed within the range of 4 m 3 to 50 m 3, with a current average size of 8m 3 to 15m 3 (11.35 m 3 on average of units built from 2008 to 2011). The data on each household s fuel use is collected before a biogas plant is installed. Animal ownership and fuel data collection for the baseline are appropriate, as biogas will only be used for cooking and lighting, and hence the baseline fuels used for these purposes are identified as the baseline scenario. Other uses of biogas, such as electricity generation or displacement of electricity by, for example, biogas water heaters, is only practiced by a minorty of the biogas-installing population. Emission reductions arising from electricity generation are not taken into account for, which is conservative. The baseline for this project is not fixed, as the technologies are adapted progressively throughout the period of credit. Therefore, the baseline will be updated each time new users are included in the project. The project scenario consists of the population of users that have installed a biogas plant, for of all whom baseline fuel data is available. The emissions reductions are calculated by comparing the fuel consumption in the project scenario with the baseline fuel use of the biogas users. 32

39 The baseline for this project is determined in accordance with the following paragraph from the applied methodology. The baseline emissions involve emissions from the use of fossil fuels and non-renewable biomass for cooking and heating, and emissions from the handling of animal waste in the baseline situation. Calculation of the baseline emissions from the thermal energy demand (BE th): estimating these emissions involves these steps: 25. Determination of annual per household energy consumption 26. Determination of applicable emissions factors 27. Determination of the fraction of non-renewable biomass 28. Calculation of average greenhouse gas emissions per household. Fuel data are collected for each household, thus providing maximum reliability and representativeness of the data collected. Renewability and non-renewability indicators are collected separately. The BE th,h for the adopted baseline option 1 for the baseline emissions from thermal energy demand for the pre-project situation is calculated in Part 2 of Appendix 2. The total amounts of fuel used to satisfy the thermal energy demand of households with the technical potential are listed below. Fuel Average per household (kg/year) NCV i (TJ/Gg) LPG Charcoal Coal Firewood Agricultural residues Kerosene Source: Calculated from Biogas user survey 2012 and IPCC 2006 Thermal energy demand (TJ/year) In the absence of national relevant emissions factors, the default emission factors from the IPCC 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Volume 2: Energy, Chapter 1, are used; see the table below. 33

40 Fuel EF CO2 (kg/tj) NCV i (TJ/Gg) LPG 63, Charcoal 112, Coal 94, NA Firewood 112, Agricultural residues 100, Kerosene Charcoal production NA Source: IPCC 2006 Thermal energy demand (TJ/year) The f NRB. is estimated to be 67%. The f NRB value is applicable to CO 2 emissions from firewood, agricultural residues and charcoal consumption and production. Methane and nitrous oxide emissions are 100% NRB by definition. The baseline emission is the baseline thermal energy consumption multiplied by emission factors and the global warming potential of each GWP. The GWP applied is taken form the Second Assessment Report of the IPCC, 21 and 310, for CH 4 and N 20 respectively. The GWP will be updated by decision of the COP/MOP. Fuel Baseline emissions from (tco 2e/yr) Total CO 2 CH 4 N 20 (tco 2e/yr) LPG Charcoal Coal Firewood Agricultural residues Kerosene Charcoal production Total Source: Calculated from Biogas user survey 2012 and IPCC 2006 The average annual emissions per household from cooking and lighting are tco 2. 34

41 In calculating the baseline emissions from Animal Waste Management Systems (BE AWMS,h), the IPCC s Tier 1 approach is adopted, due to the lack of local data required for estimating the methane emissions factor per category of livestock. The IPCC s lists of each region s default values for methane emissions from AWMS at various temperatures are given in Chapter 10 Volume 4 of IPCC As there is more than one climate zone in Vietnam, a determination of the IPCC default value for each climate zone is required. The annual temperature of the four northern mountain provinces is C, so the methane emissions factor is chosen for the temperature zone. The IPCC s default emissions factor for buffalo and cattle is the same over the range of temperatures observed in Vietnam. No. Animal Methane emission factor 1 Pig 5 2 Buffalo 2 3 Dairy cow 21 4 Cattle 1 Source: IPCC 2006 Table 12 shows that the EFs for pigs and dairy cows depend on the temperature; the EFs of the other animals are the same for the temperature ranges observed in Vietnam. The next table shows the calculated BE from AWMS and the animal population obtained from the 2012 biogas user survey and IPCC Animal N (T),h # EF (T) kgch 4/head/yr GWP CH4 tco 2/tCH 4 BE AWMS,h tco 2/head/yr Pig Buffalo Dairy cow Cattle Total 1.48 Source: Biogas user survey 2012 and IPCC 2006 The average annual emissions from AWMS are 1.48 tco 2 per household. The project proponent should investigate the following potential sources of leakage emissions (LE) as shown in the following table. 35

42 No. Leakage source Applicability 1 The displaced baseline technologies are reused outside the project boundary in place of lower emitting technologies or in a manner suggesting more usage than would have occurred in the absence of the project. 2 The NRB or fossil fuels saved under the project activity are used by non-project users who previously used lower emitting energy sources. 3 The project significantly impacts the NRB fraction within an area where other CDM or VER project activities account for the NRB fraction in their baseline scenario. 4 The project population compensates for the loss of the space-heating effect of inefficient technologies by adopting some other form of heating or by retaining some use of inefficient technology. 5 By the virtue of the promotion and marketing of a new high-efficiency technology, the project stimulates substitution within households that usually use a technology with relatively lower emissions, in cases where such a trend is not eligible as an evolving baseline. The baseline technologies are not reused outside the project boundary. Furthermore, the baseline technologies outside the project boundary are the same with similar efficiencies. Most households rely on wood in Vietnam. The small share of households that use a lower emitting energy source, such as LPG, will not switch back to NRB or coal due to the project activity. There are no other CDM or VER activities that account for NRB in their baseline registered in Vietnam. Space heating is in low frequency in Vietnam and confined to mountainous areas with limited biogas potential. The baseline is not fixed in this project, and the combustion of biogas always leads to lower emissions compared to all baseline fuels, as it is 100% renewable. Space heating may be the only source of leakage emissions; this source, however, is negligible and is not reported. Furthermore, some households install biogas heaters and biogas lamps that warm the house, thereby reducing the need for space heating completely. Not all fuels will be replaced by biogas. The fuels that people continue to use in the project scenario have been obtained from the 2012 biogas user survey. The project emissions (PE) involve emissions from the biodigester, which include physical leakage and incomplete combustion of biogas, as well as emissions from the animal waste not 36

43 treated in the biodigester. The next table shows the estimated remaining fuel consumption from the 2012 biogas user survey. Fuel Average per household (kg/year) NCV i (TJ/Gg) LPG Charcoal Coal Firewood Agricultural residues Kerosene Source: Biogas user survey 2012 and IPCC 2006 Thermal energy demand (TJ/year) The ex-ante estimated project emissions are shown in the next table by fuel and GHG. Fuel Baseline emission from (tco 2e/yr) CO 2 CH 4 N 20 Total (tco 2e/yr) LPG Charcoal Coal Firewood Agricultural residues Kerosene Charcoal production Total Source: Biogas user survey 2012 and IPCC 2006 The total annual ex-ante project emissions are tco 2 per household. The project emissions involve emissions from the biodigester, which include physical leakage and incomplete combustion of biogas, as well as emissions from the animal waste not treated in the biodigester. 37

44 Animal Pig Buffalo Dairy cow Cattle MCF Biogas plant 93% 36% NA 26% 10.0% Pasture 0% 18% NA 29% 1.5% Daily spread 1% 29% NA 24% 0.5% Solid storage 4% 16% NA 22% 4.0% Slurry 1% 0% NA 0% 50.0% Lagoon 0% 0% NA 0% 78.0% Other 1% 1% NA 0% 1.0% Source: Source: Biogas user survey 2012 and IPCC 2006 The MCF calculated by taking into account the share in each MS is shown in the next table for the temperate zone. Animal MCF.MF Pig 10.07% Buffalo 4.66% Dairy cow NA Source: Biogas user survey 2012 Cattle 4.00% The next table depicts the calculated emissions factor by type of animal. 38

45 Animal T VS(T) kg/day Bo(T) m3ch 4/kgVS MCF.MS Density CH 4 kg/m 3 Pig % Buffalo % Cattle % Dairy cows are excluded as the population is zero in the temperate zone Source: Biogas user survey 2012 and IPCC 2006 EFAWMS kgch 4/head/year The next table shows physical leakage emissions from biogas plants, which are calculated by multiplying EF per head by the average number of head for the temperate zone. Animal N(T),h EF AWMS Plbiodigester Plstove LE kgch 4/head/year LE kgch 4/head/year Pig % % Buffalo % % Dairy cow % % Cattle % % Total (kg CH 4/head/year) Total (t CO 2eq/hh/yr) Source: Biogas user survey 2012 and IPCC 2006 The average annual emissions from physical leakage are tco 2 per household. Emission source BE tco 2/h/year PE tco 2/h/year ER tco 2/h/year Fuel use AWMS Sum ,694 Source: Calculated from Biogas user survey 2012 The estimated emissions reductions are 4,694 tco 2 per biogas household per year. 39

46 Vietnam is expected to become one of the world s most vulnerable countries that are most likely to be significantly impacted by climate change. Globally, it has been ranked as a Natural Disaster Hotspot, ranking 7th on economic risk, 9th on the percentage of land area and population affected, and 22nd on mortality from multiple hazards. 3 Of the 84 countries studied, Vietnam was in the top five of those at greatest risk from rises in sea level. Agriculture plays a crucial role in Vietnam s sustainable socio-economic development. However, its agricultural growth so far relies heavily on manual labor and natural and chemical factors of production, consequently causing environmental degradation, which is exacerbated by climate change impacts making the problem worse. Agriculture is one of the sectors that will be most heavily affected by climate change (MONRE, 2010). Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) began focusing its attention on climate change in agriculture quite early on by issuing the Action Plan Framework for Aadaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change in the Agriculture and Rural Development Sector for in September 2008, prior to the promulgation of the National Target Program on Climate Change in December The MARD action plan, a response to climate change, includes 54 tasks, which allow many options for each sub-sector. As a country potentially severely affected by climate change, Vietnam has actively developed its National Determined Contribution (NDC). In order to contribute to the global efforts to achieve the global climate agreement post-2020, as well as to protect the Earth s climate system and reach the goal of limiting average temperature increases to less than 2 C in 2100, Vietnam has identified GHG emissions reduction targets for 2030 compared to the business as usual (BAU) scenario (2010). The latter was developed based on the assumption of economic growth in the absence of existing climate change policies. The target set was that, as with domestic resources, by 2030 Vietnam will reduce its GHG emissions by 8%, and will increase this rate to 25% with international support through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, as well as through the implementation of new mechanisms under the Global Climate Agreement. Under this agreement, emissions intensities per unit of GDP will be reduced by 30% compared to 2010 levels. The development of an NDC highlights Vietnam s commitment to responding to climate change as a non-annex I Party to the Convention on Climate Change. Vietnam s NDC sets out the contribution s objectives, scope and components, as well as GHG emissions reductions and climate change adaptation targets for the period and other related information. 3 Dilley, M., Chen, R. S., Deichmann, U., Lerner-Lam, A. L., and Arnold, M.: Natural Disaster Hotspots, a global risk analysis, World Bank, pp. 112, 132,

47 Currently, the Vietnamese agricultural sector is pushing for the development of the action plan so that NDCs can join hands with global efforts to ensure a low-carbon and climate-resilient future. Fifteen GHG mitigation options were identified and assessed. One of the options in agriculture to adapt the objectives proposed in the NDC is to implement solution to the problem of managing livestock waste by developing biogas digestion. Management of livestock waste can affect greenhouse gas emissions by attenuating both methane and nitrous oxide emissions, as well as by displacing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel consumption that can be avoided through biogas production and use. Biogas can be used as a renewable fuel to displace fossil fuel consumption, which not only lessens CH 4 emissions from manure management, but also lowers fossil CO 2 emissions. One of fifteen solutions for the reduction of GHG emissions in agriculture proposed in Vietnam s intended NDC is the development biogas digestion, with a target of 500,000 plants throughout the country by Four mountainous northern provinces have developed master plans for levels of livestock production by 2020, but there are no data on the livestock population in 2030 at either the national or provincial levels. The livestock population in 2030 is therefore calculated on the basis of GDP growth rates for agro-forestry and fishery products, which are on average 3-3.2% per year for the period of the master plan for the production development of the agricultural sector up to 2020 and vision to This is in line with the agricultural development orientation of some mountain provinces. 5 With a 3% growth rate per year, the livestock population of the four northern mountain provinces in 2030 is estimated as below. Unit: thousand head Province 2020* 2030** Buffalo Cow Pig Poultry Buffalo Cow Pig Poultry Thai Nguyen , Vinh Phuc , Phu Tho , Bac Giang , *: Data taken from master plan for livestock production of four northern mountain provinces **: Data calculated based on an average growth rate of 3%/year According the results from the 2012 biogas user survey for the Biogas Program for the Animal Husbandry Sector of Vietnam, the average livestock population of biogas households is Decision No. 124/QD-TTg dated 2 February 2012 on the approval of the Master Plan for production development of the agriculture sector up to 2020 and vision to Resolution No. 12/2015 / NQ-HDND dated of the Phu Tho Provincial People's Council. 41

48 pigs and 0.03 cows and chickens, as households normally collect and sell waste to produce biofertilizer. A pig produces 2 kg waste/day and a cow 10 kg waste/day. 6 Based on these data, the assumption is that household biogas digesters only use pig waste as input and that on average 20 pigs and 50% of livestock-producing households have biogas digestion in each biogas household. To contribute to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions identified in the NDC, the four northern mountainous provinces constructed 43,397 biogas plants during , and expect construction of 53,649 digesters by 2020 and 120,011 by Unit: biogas digestion Constructed Expected biogas construction No Province biogas digestion from * 2030** Total 1 Thai Nguyen 8,186 12,433 26,878 47,497 2 Vinh Phuc 12,170 13,255 17,202 42,627 3 Phu Tho 9,704 14,641 28,894 53,239 4 Bac Giang 13,337 13,320 47,037 73,694 5 Total 43,397 53, , ,057 *Data collected from Provincial Department of Rural and Development and report Renewable Energy Development master plan for the Red River Delta and the North to 2020 with a vision to 2030 ** Estimated 50% livestock households have biogas digestion based on overall master plan for water supply and environmental sanitation for rural areas of Vinh Phuc,7 Bac Giang province 6 Report on environmental protection in livestock: difficulties and solutions to overcome, Livestock Production Department, Decision No. 1087/QĐ-UBND dated 18/4/2014 of the Vinh Phuc People's Committee approving the master plan for water supply and environmental sanitation in rural Vinh Phuc province to 2020 and orientation to year

49 The total emissions reduction from 2008 to 2030 of the four northern mountainous provinces is calculated as in the table below. Unit: 10 3 tons CO 2e Province Year(s) Total Thai Nguyen Vinh Phuc Phu Tho Bac Giang Total The estimated emissions reduction of projected biogas digestion in 2020 and 2030 is thousand tons CO2e and thousand tons CO2e respectively. The total GHG emissions of four northern mountain provinces from 2008 to 2030 is thousand tons CO2e. This meets the GHG reductions mentioned in Decision No. 3119/QD-BNN-KHCN on approving the program of GHG emissions reductions in the agriculture and rural development sector up to This will help Vietnam to achieve a 32.1% reduction compared to the target raised in Vietnam s NDC for agriculture sector. 43

50 Biogas digestion is already addressing the health, energy and environmental challenges Vietnam faces while creating and supporting a sustainable commercial sector in the country. The use of alternative energy in the form of biogas has already contributed to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Its use has also contributed to mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sequestrating carbon in the form of conserving natural forest. It also offers several benefits, such as health, environmental, agricultural and economic benefits by reducing deforestation and carbon trading, which increase the adaptive capacity to counter climate change. Climate change adaptation will reduce vulnerability and inequality both within and among countries. The adaptation benefits go beyond the scope of each locality, community and country. Proactive climate change adaptation is Vietnam s contribution to the global efforts to address climate change. The implementation of biogas technology will help Vietnam to achieve a 32.1% reduction compared to the target raised in Vietnam s NDC for agriculture sector. In a few years, there will be a large market potential for domestic biogas in Vietnam. The country s animal husbandry sector is vibrant, expanding and to a large extent managed in family farms. Farmers and the government are embracing solutions, including biogas plants, to reduce the sector s environmental load. Alternatives that can replace inefficient conventional domestic fuel sources are welcome, as are opportunities to improve the nutrient management of the fields. To encourage people to construct biogas digesters for treating livestock waste, the government should develop policies and incentive mechanisms to support livestock farms as well as research centers to study modern biogas technologies appropriate to Vietnamese conditions. 44

51 29. Biogas Program for the Animal Husbandry Sector of Viet Nam, Biogas user survey Biogas Program for the Animal Husbandry Sector of Viet Nam, Project Implementation Management. 31. Decision 628/QĐ-UBND dated 3/4/2013 Provincial People s Committee approving livestock development master plan in Thai Nguyen during Decision 3309/QĐ-UBND dated 11/11/2014 by Provincial People s Committee approving livestock production master in communes and important areas of Vinh Phuc toward Decision 120/QĐ-UBND dated 25/01/2014 by Provincial People s Committee approving livestock production master plan of Bac Giang until 2020 anf toward Dilley, M., Chen, R. S., Deichmann, U., Lerner-Lam, A. L., and Arnold, M.: Natural Disaster Hotspots: a global risk analysis, World Bank, pp. 112, 132, Facilitating implementation and readiness for mitigation, Biogas on-site power generation for medium/large pig farm. 36. IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, 2006, Chapter 10: Emissions from Livestock and Manure Management. 37. Livestock Competitiveness and Food Safety Project, Project Implementation Management. 38. Low Carbon Agriculture Support Project, Project Implementation Management. 39. Official letter No.92/KH-UBND dated 08 January, 2014 for Action Plan to implement project Restructuring the agricultural sector towards higher added value and sustainable development up to 2020 of Phu Tho province. 40. Report Renewable Energy Development master plan for the Red River Delta and the Northern to 2020 with a vision to Quality and Safety Enhancement of Agricultural Products and Biogas Development, Project Implementation Management. 42. Synthesis Report, Facilitating implementation and readiness for mitigation project in Viet Nam. 45

52 The domestic biogas plant is a digester with a simple structure and a continuous feed mechanism. The plant is constructed from six main parts: 1) mixing tank; 2) inlet pipe; 3) digester; 4) outlet pipe; 5) compensation tank; and 6) gas pipe. 43. Mixing tank: place to discharge feedstock. 44. Inlet pipe: has the function of leading input materials to the digester. The pipe is cylindrical in shape and made of concrete or hard plastic, with an inside diameter of 150mm. 45. Digester: the main part of the biogas plant. Slurry is contained and fermented in the digester for biogas production. 46. Outlet pipe: has similar structure and made of the same material as the inlet pipe. However, the inside diameter of the outlet pipe can be smaller than or as big as the inlet pipe since the effluence is liquid. 47. Compensation tank; of dome shape and has the function of regulating the gas pressure in the digester. Besides, this tank also contains bio-slurry and acts as a valve to protect the digester. 48. Gas pipe: made of steel or hard plastic. One end is connected to the gas pipe, while the other end is linked to the digester to collect and transport gas out of the digester. According to the shape of the digester, there are three types of biogas plant: parallelepiped pattern, cylinder pattern and sphere pattern. - Advantage: construction technique is familiar. - Disadvantages: + More materials are required since the digester is bigger and the wall is thicker; the cover must be made of concrete. + The corners can crack easily since they have to bear very high pressures. + The corners are non-operational; therefore, the actual operation volume is lower than the constructed volume. There are two types of this pattern: the Nguyen Do type, as in Figure 6, and the RDAC type, as in Figure 7. 46

53 The RDAC type is designed with a spherical gas storage unit made of composite. The outlet pipe is large and used as a manhole. - Advantages: + Construction technique is familiar. + Savings on construction materials. + Limiting the corners. - Disadvantages: + Requires more materials for construction than parallelepiped pattern. + The dome of the digester must be spherical in shape. There are two types of this pattern: the Dong Nai type and the former RDAC type: 47

54 - Advantages: + Saves construction materials, as the surface area is the smallest and the bricks are laid at a slant for the best strength; uses common materials and minimizes the utilization of steel. + Area of spherical gas storage unit is the smallest and without corners, which helps reduce gas loss and avoid cracks. + Digesters with small surfaces are underground and therefore can save space, limit the influence of low temperatures outside and keep temperatures stable. + The digestion slurry surface is always vertical; its surface area narrows expands, reducing scum formation. - Disadvantages: + Construction technique is unfamiliar, and therefore masons need to be trained to build it. + Leakages of gas may easily occur if the plastering is not done well. + Calculation for design purposes is complicated and requires a particular computer program. This pattern consists of the following types: This type is featured with a spherical digester. There is a weak ring at 30 o of the gas dome from the center of the base. 48

55 Initial types called NL-3 were improved continuously to NL-4, NL-5 and NL-6. As NL types have been introduced in the extension system and the rural sanitation and clean water program, some domestic and international projects have become popular in most rural areas. Some plants that were constructed ten years ago are now still operating well. KT.1 was developed from the Energy Institute s NL-6 type, while KT.2 was improved from the Can Tho University type. Both types were chosen for the sample design of sector standards for small biogas plants issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Apart from the usual advantages of the spherical pattern, these types also have outstanding advantages as follow: appropriate design, maximum savings of materials, use of common construction materials which are available in province, and capacity of local masons to do the construction work. Also, the dimensions of thes digesters are suited to the climate, quantity, feedstock and demand of each household. 49

56 Besides these advantages, there are some disadvantages such as complicated construction techniques and some construction materials not always being available, like the clay which is filled into the collar to ensure the seal is tight. The design of composite digesters is based on a Chinese model. This product has been produced and developed by some companies in Vietnam since The composite model has three main tanks: a digestion tank, a gas storage tank and a compensation tank. Like KT31, the three parts are designed in one block and buried underground. Apart from advantages and disadvantages of a fixed dome biogas plant, the composite tank has the following advantages and disadvantages: - Advantages: Save on construction site; Saves time for installation; does not require a trained mason because composite installation is implemented by technicians from the suppliers or manufacturers; Can be move to another location when necessary; - Disadvantages: High cost of investment Cumbersome and therefore difficult to transport Lack of options for users, as there are few 1.9m, 2.25 or 2.5 diameter sizes. 50

57 These digesters are made from recycled plastic and produced by Moi Truong Xanh Biogas Technology and Development Co., Ltd. This tank is spherical, with a diameter of 2.25 m, and consist of two halves of a hemisphere divided into eight parts equally sized.. This digester has advantages and disadvantages as below: Advantages: quick to install, low cost investment. Disadvantages: the quality of the plastic is unequal, affecting the durability of the tank. On the other hand, the tank is composed of eight pieces together, making it susceptible to leaking biogas. The KT31 model has been studied and developed by the Biogas Technology Centre (BTC). Basically, it has three main parts: digester, gas storage tank and compensation tank. These three parts are designed in one block and buried underground, though the upper part of the compensation tank is open to the air. As a composite digester, aside from advantages and disadvantages of fixed dome biogas plants, KT31 s disadvantage is that construction is complicated, as a concrete plate has to be fixed to a separate digester tank and gas storage tank. Overflow level 0 level Minimum level 51