SINGAPORE, March 22 Vietnam intends to build nuclear power plants to diversify sources for its increasing energy demand, moving away from traditional hydropower."Maybe in 15 years, we hope to have a plant in operation," said Ta Van Huong, director general of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry ' s Department of Energy and Petroleum. "Nothing is confirmed yet." Huong, talking at the 10th Asia Power and Energy Congress in Singapore, said he hopes the government will approve nuclear power so his department can begin feasibility studies, Thanhnien News reports.Iranian PressTV reports Huong plans to build a 2,000 megawatt nuclear plant by 2015, which will come online by 2020.The Energy Information Administration, the data arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, says Vietnam will increase its electricity demand by 15 percent a year over the next three years. More than half is supplied by hydropower.Copyright 2007 by UPI
