Denmark’s offshore wind power developer CIP willing to partner with Vietnamese SOEs: exec

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), a major Danish offshore wind power developer, is willing to collaborate with Vietnamese state-owned enterprises (SOEs), says Stuart Livesey, CEO of Copenhagen Offshore Partners, a partner of CIP.

“It’s vital that state-owned enterprises are able to seek support from private developers to transfer knowledge, unlock supply chain access, and manage risk effectively,” the executive said Thursday on his Linkedin profile, referring to Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha's recent working session with CIP.

CIP is committed to supporting Vietnam's green transition, pioneering the first offshore wind project in the country, he emphasized.

CIP plans to invest $10.5 billion in a 3.5 GW offshore wind power project in Vietnam’s central province of Binh Thuan, named La Gan Offshore Wind Farm.

In March, CIP and state-owned Petrovietnam signed an MoU on renewable energy and offshore wind power. The two sides will explore opportunities to collaborate on developing specific offshore wind power projects in Vietnam, CIP emphasized.

Offshore wind power as a new industry

However, as offshore wind power is a new industry in Vietnam, the legal framework is not available yet.

In June last year, Per Mejnert Kristensen, senior vice president and Asia-Pacific president of Orsted, stated that this Danish wind power giant had "paused market development activities in Vietnam".

Petrovietnam Technical Services Corp (PTSC), a partner of Orsted in Vietnam, later commented that “a lack of detailed policies and guidelines for wind energy investment in Vietnam is making foreign investors turn to other markets.”

In September 2023, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) stressed that Vietnam is in a position to attract offshore wind power investments, but failures to timely provide supporting policy can turn investors and suppliers away.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is drafting a piloting mechanism for offshore wind power. As the sector is linked with national defense-security, the ministry plans to only let state-owned companies join the sector.

Binh Dinh province officials have suggested that the ministry should allow state-owned companies to collaborate with private businesses to proceed with projects.