Scaling bioenergy on commercial farms in Vietnam (BeCA)

The Bio-energy for Circular Agriculture (BeCA) project aims to scale up electricity generation from biogas at large livestock farms in Vietnam. This initiative is funded by the Australian Government and will run from 2021 to 2024.

The livestock sector in Vietnam accounts for 28% of agriculture and is one of the fastest-growing agricultural subsectors, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also highly polluting, emitting 15 million tons of CO2 annually into the atmosphere. Commercial farms will face strict discharge, emission, and bio-security regulations in the coming decade. In addition, the energy component of farms’ operational costs will increase markedly. Through the Business Partnerships Platform (BPP), the Australian Government support inclusive business partnerships to help promote green and resilient COVID-19 economic recovery in Vietnam.

This initiative aims to scale up an existing biogas-to-bioenergy model in Vietnam to provide medium and large pig farms with cheap, secure, and sustainable energy. Over 8,500 large and medium-sized commercial pig farms in Vietnam have biogas digesters for manure treatment. Almost all biogas plants produce biogas well above the

demand for cooking. As a result, biogas is flared or released into the atmosphere without burning, increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

The BeCA initiative's biogas-to-electricity solution will generate clean electricity for internal use and sale back into the national electricity grid, reducing farm energy costs by 20 – 30%. 

Installing biogas generators for electricity is not a well-known or popular product in Vietnam, but the potential exists. The partnership will enable state-of-the-art bio-generator technology to raise awareness of the product and facilitate the upfront purchase of equipment, thereby accelerating the scale-up process. 

The project's greenhouse gas emission reductions will be linked to international carbon markets, providing a revenue stream for bio-generator enterprises and securing their business model. Additionally, it will add value and support farm owners' net-zero mission. 

The initiative will implement the following strategies to promote women in business:

• Prioritising women-led farms and supporting their development.

• Equal ownership of Biogas generation systems to improve decision-making in the home.

• Flexible working conditions within the workplace, including ethical hiring standards.

• Inclusive training tailor-made to women to increase employability.

The partnership brings together five partners:

• Australian Government (DFAT) contributes catalytic funding, gender expertise to strengthen social and commercial impacts, connection to an extensive network, capability building to capture report social impact, safeguards, standards and practices, and national and global recognition. 

•  SNV provides technical support to bio-generator enterprises (EGreen, Chinh Phat and STD&T) for quality control, capacity building, market linkage, and access to the carbon credit market, all while ensuring a focus on inclusion, gender, and financial sustainability. 

•  Bio-generator enterprises: EGreen, Chinh Phat and STD&T are three key supporting partners join the implementation of BeCA. They are Vietnamese eco-engineering companies empowering farms to reduce carbon footprints by becoming more sustainable. They will contribute their skills to installing biogas-electricity generation systems and setting up an ESCO business model that allows farmers to generate their own electricity. 

•  Nexus for Development is the leading carbon project developer in Southeast Asia. Nexus will develop the carbon project component of the partnership, connecting the on-the-ground activities to international carbon markets to drive revenue for the partnership. 

•  HD Bank is a local bank in Vietnam with a high profile in Green investment. To promote green-environment projects in Vietnam, HD Bank will support bio-generator enterprises and pig farmers through loans.