The rate of locally-made contents in the energy sector is the main focus of a conference that was opened by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Hanoi on October 7. As part of activities to promote sustainable energy development within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the two-day event offers an opportunity for experts and policy makers to share experience and make proposals towards building a favourable regional business environment in this field. According to Nguyen Duc Cuong, Director of the Energy Centre under the Vietnam Institute of Energy, coal-fuelled thermal power is projected to make up half of the power sector’s capacity by 2030. Regulations on the rate of locally-made contents, once applied, will support renewal energy projects, protect immature industries like mechanics and clean energy until they are ready to compete in the international market and take part in the global supply chain, and generate jobs for local labourers, he said. Many held that if the market scale is not big enough, expanding the rate of locally-made contents will result in higher power prices and negatively affect trade, investment and the environment. Therefore, Cuong underlined the need to have a substantial market scale and incentives offered by the Government, among others, to actualise the plan. Echoing Cuong’s views, Ronald Steenblik, Senior Trade Policy Analyst at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), said it is essential to have policies that support research and innovation in this regard. A report made by the OECD showed that the increased rate of locally-made contents in the energy sector would spur each country’s production. However, about 75 percent of international investors in solar and wind power said this will hinder foreign capital inflows into clean energy and raise production costs.-VNA