Wind, Water, Wall-Woman

Excerpts from I-Blue, a book in progres

Costs and Benefits of a Greener Alternative for the Development of Vietnam's power sector

International audienceIn this study, BAU (a scenario based on current trends) and ALT (a greener alternative with more renewables, higher energy efficiency) are developed. The external costs of CO 2 , NOx, SO 2 and PM 10 in the Vietnamese power sector are estimated at 20, 1328, 2047 and 1460 US$/ton, respectively. The authors find that the electricity price and the domestic trade balance in ALT are less sensitive to fluctuations in the international price of coal than in BAU. The total costs accumulated between period 2010-2040 would be lower in ALT: 632 billion US$ compared with 974 billion US$. This difference arises from several factors: lower investment in new capacity (226 vs 306 billion US$); lower local pollution costs (73 vs 137 billion US$); and lower expenditures on imported fuels (57 vs 115 billion US$). The outcomes of ALT are in accord with the targets in the most recent Green Growth Strategy of Vietnam

Perspective of CO2 capture & storage (CCS) development in Vietnam: Results from expert interviews

International audienceThis paper summarizes expert opinions regarding crucial factors that mayinfluence Vietnam’s future use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) based onface-to-face interviews in December 2013 with 16 CCS-related experts fromthe Vietnamese government, research institutes, universities and the energyindustrial sector. This study finds that financial incentives and climate policyare the most important factors for the development of CCS technologies inVietnam in the next two decades. Financial incentives involve direct subsidiesfrom the government, such as tax exemptions for land use and the importationof CCS-related equipment. In addition, all the experts agree that internationalfinancial support is important to initiate a large deployment of CCStechnologies in Vietnam by implementing demonstrative/pilot projects to proveCCS’s working efficiency

Low Carbon Scenario for the Power Sector of Vietnam: Externality and Comparison Approach

International audienceIn this paper, BAU (a scenario based on current trends) and ALT (a greener alternative with more renewables, higher energy efficiency) are developed. The external costs of CO2, NOx, SO2 and PM10 in the Vietnamese power sector are estimated at 20, 1328, 2047 and 1460 US$/ton, respectively. The authors find the electricity price and the domestic trade balance in ALT less sensitive to fluctuations in the international price of coal than in BAU. The total costs accumulated between the period of 2010-2040 would be lower in ALT: 632 billion US$ compared with 974 billion US$. This difference arises from several factors: lower investment in new capacity (226 vs 306 billion US$); lower local pollution costs (73 vs 137 billion US$); and lower expenditures on imported fuels (57 vs 115 billion US$). The outcomes of ALT are in accord with the targets in the most recent Green Growth Strategy of Vietnam and the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) of the country to UNFCCC and COP21

Data Driven Customer Segmentation for Vietnamese SMEs in Big Data Era

Almost Vietnamese big businesses often use outsourcing services to do marketing researches such as analysing and evaluating consumer intention and behaviour, customers’ satisfaction, customers’ loyalty, market share, market segmentation and some similar marketing studies. One of the most favourite marketing research business in Vietnam is ACNielsen and Vietnam big businesses usually plan and adjust marketing activities based on ACNielsen’s report. Belong to the limitation of budget, Vietnamese small and medium enterprises (SMEs) often do marketing researches by themselves. Among the marketing researches activities in SMEs, customer segmentation is conducted by tools such as Excel, Facebook analytics or only by simple design thinking approach to help save costs. However, these tools are no longer suitable for the age of data information explosion today. This article uses case analysing of the United Kingdom online retailer through clustering algorithm on R package. The result proves clustering method’s superiority in customer segmentation compared to the traditional method (SPSS, Excel, Facebook analytics, design thinking) which Vietnamese SMEs are using. More important, this article helps Vietnamese SMEs understand and apply clustering algorithm on R in customer segmenting on their given data set efficiently. On that basis, Vietnamese SMEs can plan marketing programs and drive their actions as contextualizing and/or personalizing their message to their customers suitabl

Feasibility and sustainability of co-firing biomass in coal power plants in Vietnam

International audienceThe technology of co-firing biomass with coal is well-matured as demonstrated in many power plants in Europe and the US. It is considered as a relatively low-cost technology to utilize biomass in power generation as well as to reduce the greenhouse gases emissions and coal consumption in coal power plants. However, biomass co-firing is still a new concept in the context of Vietnam energy sector. By 2030, the capacity of coal power plants in Vietnam will be expanded to 75 GW, which accounts for 57% of total power generation. This will increase the greenhouse gases emissions and pose a great challenge on coal supply for Vietnam. This research aims to evaluate the feasibility and sustainability of co-firing biomass in coal power plants in Vietnam. The assessment is conducted using a set of indicators, which is divided into four categories: technical, economical, environmental and social aspects. The feasibility and sustainability assessment is then applied to a case study, a newly constructed 1000 MW fluidized bed coal power plant in Quang Ninh Province. In the case study, direct co-firing technology with 5% of biomass co-fired percentage is selected for the evaluation of the indicators

Graptolites from Silurian (Llandovery Series) sedimentary deposits attributed to a forearc setting, Co To Formation, Co To archipelago, northeast Vietnam

Newly collected graptolites from the Co To Formation, Co To archipelago, NE Vietnam, comprise assemblages indicative of two biostratigraphical levels within the lower Silurian, Llandovery Series, Telychian Stage: the co-occurrence of Spirograptus turriculatus and Torquigraptus proteus? suggests an interval most likely within the upper part of the Spirograptus turriculatus Biozone or 'Monograptus' crispus Biozone, whilst Oktavites spirally and Monoclimacis cf. suhgeinitzi identify the Oktavites spiralis Biozone. The graptolites provide important biostratigraphical evidence for the age of the upper part of the lower Co To Formation, biostratigraphical ties between the NE Vietnamese succession of the Bac Bo Region and graptolite assemblages of the Long Dai Formation in the Viet-Lao Region of central Vietnam, and include the new species Monograptus hanutlus sp. nov. co-occurring with S. turriculatus, which is perhaps an ancestral form to the later Telychian species Monograptus drepanoformis. We also report the lirst chitinozoans, including Belonechitina, from the Co To Formation

TÀI NGUYÊN VỊ THẾ VÙNG BỜ KHÁNH HÒA: TIỀM NĂNG VÀ TRIỂN VỌNG

Coastal area in Khanh Hoa Province belongs to Coastal South Central Region, where the Vietnam mainland juts out farthest into the west of the East Sea, and has a special relationship in space with the offshore Spratly islands, the geo-strategic Highlands and economic - political centre of Ho Chi Minh City. This coastal area is close to the sloping and deep continental shelf; possesses the diverse landforms and complex spatial structure with the systems of peninsula, islands, bays, lagoons and river mouths etc. that creates enormous potential for geo-natural position resources, of which highlights are the values of coastal bays and islands. In the geo-economic position resources, Khanh Hoa coastal area has great potential to build the base for exploiting offshore resources, establish large  marine economic zones, and develop the economy of marine services, especially the port - navigation and coastal ecotourism. In the geo-political position resources, this is one of leading sites for defending and protecting the country from sea, and ensuring the sovereignty and national interests in the East Sea including the direct administration of Spratly island district. The detailed investigation and assessment of the position resources in this coastal area will be an important scientific basis for the sea and island development in Khanh Hoa province.Vùng bờ tỉnh Khánh Hòa nằm ở duyên hải Nam Trung Bộ, thuộc phần nhô ra xa  nhất của đất liền Việt Nam ra vùng giữa bờ tây Biển Đông, có quan hệ đặc biệt về không gian với quần đảo xa bờ Trường Sa, vùng địa bàn chiến lược Tây Nguyên và trung tâm kinh tế - chính trị thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. Đây là vùng bờ có thềm lục địa phía ngoài sâu và dốc; hình thể và cấu trúc không gian đa dạng và phức tạp với hệ thống các bán đảo, đảo, vũng vịnh, đầm và cửa sông ... tạo ra tiềm năng to lớn về tài nguyên địa - tự nhiên, mà nổi bật là giá trị của hệ thống các vũng vịnh và đảo ven bờ. Về tài nguyên địa - kinh tế, vùng bờ Khánh Hòa có tiềm năng lớn xây dựng cơ sở hậu cần khai thác tài nguyên biển xa, xây dựng các cơ sở kinh tế biển lớn, phát triển kinh tế dịch vụ biển, đặc biệt là cảng - hàng hải và du lịch sinh thái biển. Về tài nguyên địa - chính trị, đây là một trong những vị trí có vai trò quan trọng trong việc phòng thủ và bảo vệ đất nước từ biển, đảm bảo chủ quyền và lợi ích quốc gia trên Biển Đông, trong đó có việc trực tiếp quản lý huyện đảo Trường Sa. Việc điều tra, đánh giá chi tiết tài nguyên vị thế vùng bờ sẽ là cơ sở khoa học quan trọng để phát triển biển đảo tỉnh Khánh Hòa

THE IMPACT OF INNOVATION ON ECONOMIC GROWTH: THE SPILLOVER EFFECT OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

Purpose of the study: Innovation is seen as the key to improving quality and productivity, thereby promoting competition and economic growth. This study analyzes the impact of innovation on economic growth through various measures, such as research and development spending, the number of researchers, number of patents as well as trademark registrations. Research results are evidence to recommend policies for intellectual-based economic growth. Methodology: Literature review and empirical analysis conducted in the study. The empirical method is a two-step System Generalize Methods of Moments (GMM), aiming at reliable results. Accessing the World Bank Database, research data from 64 developed and developing countries are collected from 2006 to 2014. Main Findings: The empirical findings show that innovation plays a crucial contribution in promoting economic growth, similar to national openness and government spending on education. This study also finds a positive impact on foreign investment flows and their spillover role in enhancing the correlation between innovation and economic growth. Applications of this study: The findings of this study focus on the contributions of innovation, foreign direct investment inflows, and other macro factors that can be enforced to improve economic growth by policymakers. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study uses different measures of innovation, including inputs such as the number of researchers, research and development expenditure, and outputs as the number of patents and number of trademark registrations. Empirical findings are found consistently, thus confirming that innovation is very important for economic growth. The study also shows convincing evidence confirming the positive contribution of foreign direct investment as well as its spillover effect on innovation and economic growth