Vietnam eyes 1,000 MW wind power capacity by 2020

At the workshop.

Do Duc Quan, deputy head of the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), mentioned the goal at a workshop on the expansion of offshore wind power, held in Hanoi on April 9. The workshop was co-organized by the MoIT and the Netherlands Embassy in Vietnam.

Quan went on to say that local demand for energy, especially electricity, will remain huge in the 2020-30 period. The overall demand is predicted to see a sharp rise while the supply of energy is facing various challenges, most worryingly the worsening depletion of fossil fuels, upward oil prices throughout the world, and the domestic market’s increasing dependence on global energy prices.

In a bid to step up green growth and sustainable development, Vietnam has been accelerating wind power expansion with existing wind farms yielding a combined capacity of 197 MW.

In addition, construction on many wind farms has began, which is expected to increase the total capacity to 263 MW. Many more projects are waiting for approval from competent authorities, once granted, these would achieve a total capacity of 412 MW.

As much as 4,236 MW to be produced by wind farms nationwide has been added to the country’s power development plan while there are some 10,279 MW of wind power registered.

The Netherlands has emerged as one of the world’s five leading nations in regard to the research and development of wind power. Last March, the Dutch government debuted a roadmap on offshore wind power expansion with the aim of reaching the wind power capacity of 11.5 GW by 2030, or 40 per cent of the national demand for electricity.

Hans de Boer, President of the Confederation of Netherlands Business and Employers, expressed his high hopes on the future development of wind power in Vietnam. He noted that large-scale offshore wind power projects could help to ease the burden on the national electricity system.

The Netherlands could team up with the Vietnamese side to outline a blueprint for sustainable development of offshore wind power in Vietnam while helping to install an efficient electricity system and grid connection as well as offering relevant refresher courses.

Boer stressed that the Netherlands is willing to share its experience in researching, designing, and executing offshore wind farms.

Though offshore wind power is provided with the preferential feed-in tariff of 9.8 US cent per kWh, many workshop attendees raised concerns about difficulties and barriers that hinder the expansion of wind power.

A lack of reliable information sources on the potential for offshore wind power projects and the feasibility of grid connections once the projects are completed, are among the main concerns.

Investors said that regulations prescribed in the Planning Law which came into force from January 1 2019 onwards, are posing a major hindrance to the progress of wind power projects.

Many complained that it is rushed as the Government’s Decision No.39/2018/QD-TTg prescribes that the 9.8 US cent tariff is valid for wind farms which are connected to the national grid and put into commercial operation prior to November 1, 2021.