General Evaluation of the Geothermal Potential in Vietnam and the Prospect of Development in the Near Future

Abstract

The geothermal resources have been studied as a new energy sources in Vietnam ten years ago. Up to now, there are 3 projects funded by Vietnamese government for the energy purpose aimed to investigate and evaluate the geothermal potential in the South - Central, North Central and West - Northern parts where are the most geothermal potential energy in Vietnam territory and 1 project of research and evaluation of the feasibility of geothermal utilization in some certain geothermal sources contributing to the energy balance in Vietnam.
The study results indicate that there are 269 geothermal sources in Vietnam territory with the surface temperatures above 300C. The total energy capacity is estimated up to 648.9Mwt. But the capacity of geothermal utilization for energy is just 1-2Mwt for heating iodide-salt production. The rest of utilization is for spar, swimming pool, tourism etc.