State utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has proposed that the government facilitates generation of 4,000 MW from offshore wind power plants in the northern region to ensure regional energy security.
In its proposal, EVN, the sole power distributor and the biggest producer in Vietnam, said the northern region currently accounts for 50% of power consumption in the country.
However, there are few new energy projects in the region and the high number of new projects in the central and southern regions offer limited help due to technical limitations in the 500 kV transmission line.
The limited supply of coal for power production was another challenge.
As a solution, EVN proposed the addition of 5,500 MW of renewable energy until 2025, including 4,000 MW of offshore wind power and 1,500 MW of solar power, along with suitable storage systems.
The sources of traditional energy have already maxed out, said Cao Thi Thu Yen, an expert with the EVN Power Engineering Consulting JSC 1 (EVNPECC1). "Therefore it was more feasible and viable to develop offshore wind power in the region."
Research has shown that at an attitude of 100 meters, the average wind speed is 7.5-8.5 meters per second. The Danish Energy Agency (DEA) has said that the technical potential of the region from on-land wind power generation is 18 GW.
Vietnam’s current wind power capacity is 4,000 MW and this could reach 16,121 MW of nearshore and land-based wind power and 7,000 MW of offshore wind power by 2030, said Pham Nguyen Hung, deputy head of the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority (EREA), under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
He added that some northern localities like Quang Ninh, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh provinces and Hai Phong city have already proposed offshore wind power projects.
Yen also said that the “decreasing requirements” in offshore wind power was an advantage for developing this source. The investment needed to generate 1,000 MW of offshore wind power in Vietnam will reduce from the current $3.15 billion to $2.15 billion in 2030, he added.