Vietnam to develop offshore wind power after 2030: ministry

The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed delaying the development of offshore wind power until after 2030, instead of meeting the initial target of 6,000 MW within the next five years.

At a meeting of the appraisal council for the revised National Power Development Plan VIII (PDP VIII) on Wednesday, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien stated that offshore wind power remains an expensive source of energy to build until 2030.

The approved plan sets the capacity of offshore wind energy at around 6,000 MW by 2030, but no investment projects have yet been given in-principle approval, he noted.

“Therefore, the revised plan proposes developing this energy source after 2030, reaching approximately 17,000 MW by 2035,” the minister said.

Instead, over the next five years, Vietnam will focus on developing onshore and near-shore wind power, with a targeted capacity of 27,791-34,667 MW, an increase of about 15% compared to the current plan, he added.

According to Dien, the World Bank has estimated that Vietnam's offshore wind potential is around 600 GW and this energy source could contribute 12% of the country's total electricity production by 2035.

Recently, several foreign investors in the renewable energy sector have expressed interest in offshore wind projects in Vietnam, such as Danish group Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and wind energy developer PNE AG from Germany.

More than two years ago, 36 domestic investors applied for surveys of offshore wind power development, but the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment recommended halting licensing due to legal hurdles.

He noted that there are still significant challenges in developing offshore wind power projects, including a lack of consistency in laws related to offshore operations, huge investment, and concerns related to national defence and security.

According to estimates, an offshore wind power project requires at least three years to construct. This means that if such projects are to be operational by 2030, they must begin construction by 2027, and all permits must be ready at least a year earlier, said Bruno Jaspaert, chairman of EuroCham Vietnam.

This year, the Vietnamese government has set a GDP growth goal of at least 8%, aiming for double-digit growth in the 2026-2030 period. To meet the electricity demands for this economic growth target, the trade ministry (MoIT) stated that the total installed power capacity for domestic demand by 2030 is expected to reach about 183,291-236,363 MW, an increase of 18-54% compared to the current plan.

For coal-fired power, the total capacity by 2030 will increase by 928 MW compared to the PDP VIII, while domestic gas-fired power will remain at about 10,861 MW, unchanged from the current plan.

The revised plan also proposes postponing some LNG projects to after 2030. The total capacity for this source in the next five years will be 8,824 MW, a reduction of about 13,576 MW from the original target in the PDP VIII.

Meanwhile, hydropower, renewable energy, and energy storage sources will be increased. The ministry plans to tap all hydropower potential, with a total capacity of medium and large plants hitting around 21,100 MW, a rise of 1,600 MW from the current plan; and small hydropower 13,500 MW, up 5,400 MW.

Concentrated and rooftop solar power will rise by 25,867 MW and 52,825 MW to 46,459 MW and 73,416 MW, respectively. They are seen as quick-to-deploy energy sources, which can meet electricity supply needs in 2026-2027.

As for the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project, the minister said that the total capacity of the two planned nuclear plants is expected to be around 6,000-6,400 MW. They are set to be completed by 2030 and operational between 2030-2035. By 2050, the system will add about 4,500-5,000 MW of nuclear power in the North and around 3,000 MW in the central region, mainly from small modular reactors (SMR).

“The potential sites for nuclear power development will be studied in plans after the PDP VIII,” Dien said.

According to the minister, the total investment required for energy development during the 2026-2030 period is estimated at around $136-172 billion, including $118-148 billion for power sources and $18-24 billion for the transmission grid.

To meet the large capital demand, the MoIT has proposed various solutions to diversify funding sources, including bank credit, aid, and the stock market, he said, adding that the government also aims to attract both domestic and foreign resources and encourage economic sectors to invest in energy.

The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) says in its August 2024 report that Vietnam has not initiated any true offshore wind projects and has only developed intertidal wind projects; thus the target of installing 6 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 under its latest power development plan (PDP VIII) presents considerable challenges.