Big challenge in progress
In the context of hydropower basically running out of space for development; Coal thermal power will not be further developed after 2030 according to international commitments, ensuring power supply and national energy security is a huge challenge. Accelerating gas power and offshore wind power projects plays a very important role in supplying power to the national power system; At the same time, it contributes to helping Vietnam achieve its commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050.
Gas power development is in accordance with Vietnam's policy in Power Plan VIII to ensure power supply for the system and reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the environment, offset energy shortages for the system, and ensure diverse fuel supplies. At the same time, this is a backup source when the proportion of renewable energy sources increases in the source structure, ensuring a stable power supply for the system. Meanwhile, offshore wind power is considered a renewable energy source capable of running a base load for the system.
Vietnam is located in the tropical monsoon climate zone and has a coastline stretching 3,260km with 28 coastal provinces and cities, so the potential for wind energy development in Vietnam is extremely large. According to the World Bank's assessment, Vietnam is the country with the largest wind energy potential among the four countries in the region: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, with more than 39% of Vietnam's total area estimated to have an average annual wind speed greater than 6m/s at an altitude of 65m, equivalent to a capacity of about 512,000MW.
Offshore wind power will generate large and stable renewable energy amount. Photo: vneconomy.vn
According to Power Plan VIII, from now until 2030, the total installed capacity of power sources by 2030 is 150,489MW (nearly double the current total installed capacity, about 80,000MW). Of which, the total additional power capacity from gas power projects (30,424MW) and offshore wind power (6,000MW) accounts for about 50% of the total power capacity that needs to be added.
It can be seen that gas power and offshore wind power sources are planned for large-scale development, however, these two types of power sources do not have development experience in Vietnam. According to the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority, Ministry of Industry and Trade, it takes about 7-8 years to deploy a gas power project from the time the project is approved for planning until it is put into operation. For offshore wind power projects, the implementation process takes about 6-8 years from the time of the survey. "Implementing gas power and offshore wind power projects to meet the schedule of putting them into operation before 2030 is a big challenge," Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized.
National Assembly needs to issue a separate resolution?
For offshore wind power projects, according to experts, due to the specific nature of engineering and technology, large investment scale (about USD 2-3 million /MW), and investment processes and procedures are naturally complicated, realizing the goals set out in Power Plan VIII for offshore wind power is also a huge challenge. In addition, up to now, the National Marine Spatial Plan has not been approved, so there is no basis for implementing the Power Plan; authority to approve investment policies; or Market access conditions for foreign investors in the field of offshore wind power.
According to Minister Nguyen Hong Dien, problems with gas power and offshore wind power projects need to be considered and resolved urgently and synchronously from planning to policy mechanism. To solve these problems, it is necessary to promptly report to the Government to propose to the National Assembly a resolution on specific mechanisms and policies for the implementation of gas power and offshore wind power projects so as to meet the requirement of implementation progress following Power Plan VIII. Particularly, offshore wind power projects need to be included in the list of important national projects eligible for special mechanisms and policies.