Con Dao district is currently supplied with power from 9 diesel generator units with a total capacity of 11.82MW; in which the available capacity is 9.7MW. In addition, the district also has a number of rooftop solar power projects.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Giap, Director of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Power Company (Ba Ria - Vung Tau PC), in addition to putting a 1.5MW diesel power unit into service for people before the holiday of April 30, Ba Ria - Vung Tau PC has also put 3 more units of the same capacity into use from the end of 2023 and in 2024.
With the installation of 4 more diesel generator units, the available capacity for Con Dao will be increased to more than 16MW. The arrangement of these diesel generators is to reduce the load on the island's old power generation system, but which must operate continuously for more than 22 hours a day.
Diesel power units in Con Dao district always operates more than 22 hours a day - Photo: Thanh Trung
Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has agreed to the plan to pull underground cables from the mainland across the sea to supply power to Con Dao district (Ba Ria - Vung Tau province).
Based on the review of Con Dao's electricity demand, the Ministry of Industry and Trade forecasts that by 2035 this island district will need more than 90MW and in 2045 more than 114MW. Facing this need, 5 power development options for Con Dao are proposed by Vietnam Electricity (EVN) and the consulting unit, Power Project Management Board 3 (a unit under EVN), including in-place diesel power source (like current power supply); renewable energy (wind, solar); offshore wind power; Offshore wind power combines renewable power sources and investment in grid power with an undersea cable route. In particular, EVN proposes to supply power to Con Dao with a 110kV submarine cable crossing the sea. This project is economically and financially feasible and meets the goal of stable power supply, economic development, tourism, and ensuring national security and sovereignty. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade unanimously proposed the above-mentioned option for making a report to the Deputy Prime Minister thereon. The preliminary calculation, the total investment for the project to pull the grid to Con Dao is more than VND4,950 billion, expected to be completed in 2025.