HCM City (VNA) – Facing the huge pressure of wastetreatment, Ho Chi Minh City has been strongly inviting investment into waste-to-electricitytechnology so as to protect the environment and boost energy efficiency.

Director of the municipal Department of NaturalResources and Environment Nguyen Toan Thang said more than 9,000 tonnes ofsolid waste are released in HCM City each day. About 76 percent of the volumeis buried, 14.7 percent is recycled, and 9.3 percent is burned.

The city is calling for investment in wastetreatment using advanced technologies, especially waste-to-electricity one, soas to reduce the rate of buried waste to 50 percent in 2020 and 20 percent in2050.

Local authorities have permitted a project usingplasma gasification technology to convert waste into electricity. The project,invested by the Trisun Green Energy Corporation, is able to handle 2,000 tonnesof waste per day when operational.

In late 2016, the Thuy luc – May (hydraulic power– machinery) Co. Ltd was licensed to pilot the Go Cat waste-to-electricityfactory. This plant was put into operation on March 30, 2017 and generatedelectricity to the national grid nearly one month later, on April 22.

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This factory has compressed 500 tonnes ofnon-toxic industrial waste into fuel cubes and converted 35 tonnes of wasteinto 7 million kWh of electricity. Its treatment cost is estimated at 1.5million VND (64.8 USD) per tonnes while the power selling price is about 10.5US cent per kWh.

Director of the company Nguyen Gia Long saidwaste-to-energy factories can be built on small scale in communes and districtsto help address local waste problems, thus reducing the transportation of wastefrom downtown areas to the outskirts for treatment.

After the success of the Go Cat plant, hisbusiness is waiting for permission from the HCM City administration to take astep further in the direction. Accordingly, garbage will be compressed intocubes at the Phuoc Hiep waste treatment complex in Cu Chi district and then deliveredto the Go Cat factory for power generation. The company envisions theproduction of 20MW of electricity from every 1,000 tonnes of solid waste eachday.

Meanwhile, on November 22, 2018, the Tasco JSCbegan the construction of a waste-to-electricity plant at the Tay Bac solidwaste treatment complex in Cu Chi district. The factory, invested with nearly 1trillion VND, is scheduled to become operational after 24 months and able tohandle 500 tonnes of waste per day.

Chau Phuoc Minh, a representative of Tasco, saidthe factory will apply a highly efficiently technology that will not onlyconvert waste into power but also make use of waste to produce organicfertilizer, as well as ash and cinder to make unbaked bricks.-VNA