Nuclear power a must for Vietnam to meet energy demand given renewables' limit: Minister

Renewables, including solar power even backed by an expensive power storage system, cannot fulfill Vietnam’s electricity demand, hence nuclear energy will be needed, said Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien.

At the National Assembly’s discussion on Thursday related to the draft amended Law on Electricity, Dien said the country’s current power capacity is about 80,000 MW and must nearly double to 150,524 MW to fulfill national demand in 2030.

As the demand can quintuple by 2050, new energies and nuclear power will be inevitably needed, Dien added.

The minister also clarified that traditional power sources are not the solution. Hydropower has already reached its maximum capacity while coal-fired power is not feasible.

In order to facilitate new power sources (hydrogen, green ammonia, and nuclear power), which take time to develop, the legal framework must be “steps ahead of the curve,” he pointed out.

Since the announcement of the Power Development Plan VIII (PDP VIII) in 2023 featuring new power sources, no investors have proposed such projects due to the underdeveloped legal framework, Dien stressed.

Updating the legal framework is crucial, he noted while mentioning Vietnam’s needs for $14-16 billion a year to develop the energy sector until 2030. He said power projects need more specific policies versus “general” projects.

For example, regarding power transmission, the draft law will let the State become the sole investor in ultra and high voltage grids, and allow private investors to invest in the grids of 110 kV or 220 kV, subject to approval, Dien highlighted.

About nuclear power, Dien pointed out Vietnam did not cancel but just put the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant project "on hold” in 2016. To facilitate nuclear power, the law should at least permit the power and allow the government to carry out further tasks, the minister said.

On the same page, Dang Thi My Huong, a deputy from the Ninh Thuan province delegation, said the draft law is still unclear for nuclear power and needs more details.

Vietnam currently has no nuclear power project. In September, the Ministry of Industry and Trade was tasked with studying the development of nuclear power as a baseload source.

In the draft electricity law, the Vietnamese government has proposed that the State be the sole investor in nuclear power development.

Major producers including Russia and South Korea have already expressed their willingness to help Vietnam develop nuclear energy.