At the meeting, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that on May 15, 2023, the Prime Minister signed Decision No. 500/QD-TTg approving the Power Plan VIII for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050. Accordingly, the total installed capacity by 2030 is 150 - 160GW (twice the current total installed capacity). Thus, ensuring power supply and national energy security by 2030 is a huge challenge because it has to rapidly grow in scale and drastic transform in structure to approach the carbon neutrality goals and balance development between regions, between source and transmission.
Minister Nguyen Hong Dien affirmed that the gas thermal power development, including natural and LNG, is an inevitable direction and plays a critical role in ensuring power supply for the economy and promoting energy transition in Vietnam because the LNG power source is possible to run in the baseload, start quickly, ready to promptly replenish and supply power to the system when renewable energy sources deflate, and at the same time emitting less CO2.
From the LNG project implementation experience, it can be seen that the progress of preparing for construction investment and operation of these power plants is quite long. The fastest time to deploy an LNG project (from planning to commissioning) is estimated at 8 years, even if there are projects over 10 years. “The power source progress delay, especially the development of the baseload power source, shall have severe consequences for the national power security,” the Minister of Industry and Trade emphasized.
At the meeting, Mr. Hoang Tien Dung - Director of the Electricity and Renewable Energy Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), reported several contents related to the master plan for the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) power sources in Power Planning VIII.
Accordingly, the planned LNG thermal power capacity for domestic demand is 22,400MW (accounting for 14.9% of the total capacity of the entire power system). This is a transitional power source in Vietnam’s energy transition because the emissions of CO2 and other pollutants are much lower than coal power, and it is possible to switch to hydrogen when the hydrogen power generation cost is reasonable.
Currently, 13 LNG power projects have been approved by the Prime Minister in the Portfolio of important projects and prioritized for investment in the Power sector in Decision 500/QD-TTg.
Also at the meeting, representatives of PVPower and provincial leader: Bac Lieu, Long An, Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Ninh Thuan, Quang Binh, Binh Thuan, Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa, and Nghe An reported the progress on the implementation, as well as difficulties and obstacles, and proposed measures to accelerate the progress of locally thermal power plant projects using LNG gas.
Concluding the meeting, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien once again affirmed that energy security in general (electricity in particular) is an extremely critical and urgent issue. The implementation of Power Plan VIII, especially important and priority projects, needs to be more urgent, and effective, and certainly, because there are only 7 years left (to 2030) to implement the 10-year roadmap, the power source scale must be doubled compared to the current one and the power source structure must be fundamentally changed in the direction of cleaner, more balanced and stable; Therefore, it requires a lot of capital, technology, and determination, the active and responsibly participation of the whole political system from the central to local levels to realize it.
To ensure that gas power projects are deployed and implemented on schedule according to the master plan, the Minister suggested that the Provincial Party Committees, People’s Committees of provinces, cities, and related units, for projects already owned investment, need to focus on speeding up the progress and create favorable conditions for investors to implement the project; promptly solve or assist in solving difficulties and problems (especially in terms of ground, infrastructure, environment, and so on) so as not to affect the project implementation progress.
It is needed to resolutely revoke the investment registration certificate if the investor violates the regulations or delays the approved project implementation schedule.
For projects without an investor yet, the Minister directed to urgently review and add the project to the provincial master plan and the local land use master plan and program; expeditiously prepare a pre-feasibility study report of the plant, implement procedures for granting investment policy, select a capable and experienced investor in implementing LNG power projects and related infrastructures, striving to complete it in the third quarter of 2023; accelerate the preparation and submission of the feasibility study report of the LNG power plant, striving to complete it in the fourth quarter of 2023. At the same time, it is necessary to closely coordinate with the investor, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and related ministries and branches in the process of investment preparation, construction, operation, etc., to ensure progress and efficiency.
The construction and operation progress of LNG power plants is crucial to national energy security by 2030, so if any project is at risk of delay, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall report to the Government and The Prime Minister to delay the project’s progress and accelerate the backup projects early and/or calculated other alternatives to ensure the power supply.
For some proposals and recommendations of localities on problems related to planning, land use plan, environment, transmission infrastructure, connection agreements, power purchase agreements, etc., Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that the Ministry of Industry and Trade, according to its assigned functions and tasks, shall closely coordinate with relevant ministries, branches, and local leaders to promptly consider, resolve, or propose to the Government and the Prime Minister to direct the settlement. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall set up Working Groups to inspect, urge, and support localities.
In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade also assigned the Electricity and Renewable Energy Department to urgently guide, support, and assist localities and investors in project implementation. Especially, it is important to urgently conduct appraisals and perform their obligations and responsibilities when the investor has enough project documents.