Vietnam's draft power development plan delays offshore wind projects to 2035

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam has released a draft adjustment plan to its National Electricity Development Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050 (Power Plan VIII), which aims to replace the 2023 power generation plan. Overall, the total installed capacity should reach 175 GW by 2030, up from the initially planned 150 GW. The draft postpones offshore wind projects to 2035, compared with an initial goal to install 6 GW by 2030. It also reduces power generation targets from gas and LNG from 22.4 GW to 18 GW by 2030, owing to forecast lower supplies of imported LNG and lower than expected domestic gas production, including from ExxonMobil's Blue Whale gas field off central coast; domestic gas production should support 10.8 GW of gas-fired capacity by 2030, instead of the previously planned 15 GW. The Ministry aims at filling the gap with coal and other renewables (hydropower, solar and onshore wind) until nuclear power plants are operational by 2035 and reach 5 GW of nuclear by 2050. Coal-fired capacity should reach 31 GW by 2030, up from an initial forecast of 30.1 GW, and an additional 7.2 GW of additional capacity could be installed, making coal the largest energy source. Solar capacity should more than double from the current target to 30.4 GW.

Meanwhile, the national power utility EVN has taken over the 715 MW Phu My 2.2 gas-fired CCGT power plant, which had been developed by Mekong Energy - a joint venture of EDF, Sumitomo and JERA - in the Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, commissioned in 2005 and operated under a 20-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model. Since 2005, the power plant has generated over 90 TWh of electricity.