Great potentials
Assessing the potential for renewable energy (RE) development in Vietnam, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said that: Vietnam is situated in the tropical monsoon region, with the average number of annual sunshine hours from 2,500 - 3,000 hours with the average annual temperature of over 21 degrees Celsius. Additionally, Vietnam has a great potential for other forms of natural energy such as wind, biomass, etc. These clean and valuable energy sources need to be appropriately and effectively exploited.
Particularly for the potential of wind power, according to Mr. Nguyen Van Vy - Vice President of Vietnam Energy Association, with modern technology, the turbine could generate power with only wind speed of 5m/s or more. Wind power in Vietnam is estimated to likely generate about 40-50 thousand MW, this figure can be increased, if it is combined with the potential of wind power from offshore, Vietnam could generate over 100 thousand MW.
With solar energy (SE), Vietnam can install solar panels in such different areas as on the coast, lakes, in delta, mountainous areas, on the roofs, etc. If the average 1ha can generate 1MW of solar power, Vietnam can produce tens of thousands of MW from solar radiation.
Rooftop solar power system of Ho Chi Minh City Power Corporation
Challenges ahead
Mr. Ngo Son Hai - Deputy General Director of EVN said that in order to efficiently and sustainably develop power, EVN completely supports the policy of promoting renewable energy (RE) development, in line with the planning. Priority is given to the RE development would contribute to ensuring national energy security, protecting energy resources and reducing negative impacts on the environment in power production. However, when RE is exploited, the design of power transmission and distribution system should be adjusted from the traditional designs.
In Vietnam, due to great demand for power, the promotion of RE development also needs to be noticed as follows: Unstable generation capacity due to the dependence on weather conditions (wind speed, solar radiation, etc.). To ensure stable operation of the power system, back up capacity should be taken into account to compensate for the inadequate capacity once power can not be generated from RE sources. The voltage of wind and solar power sources can not be adjusted unless strict regulations on requiring investment in protective equipment before grid connection are applied.
Currently, the sources are being operated under the competitive market mechanism. It is expected in 2019, a competitive electricity wholesale market will be formed. However, there has not been any appropriate mechanism for RE in the electricity market. To handle these inadequacies, EVN suggests functional authorities promptly approve the Planning for RE power sources development at provincial and national levels. The synchronous development of power sources, the safe and economical operation of power system and general social investment efficiency, etc., should be ensured in the consideration of RE projects.
Mr. Nguyen Van Vy – Deputy Chairman of Vietnam Energy Association also suggests that the State should develop synchronous, stable and long-term policies on RE development, increasing the confidence for investors, as well as develop and promulgate national technical standards and regulations in the process of designing, investing in construction and managing the exploitation and operation of RE power sources works; national technical standards and regulations for the power grid to be synchronized with RE power sources and national technical standards for other equipment and works related to RE, uniformly applied throughout the country.