Investors Attracted to Offshore Power Projects
Local private company Xuan Cau Holding has formally requested the government and ministries to propose the construction of offshore wind power projects under the pilot mechanism. They have also applied for a survey permit for their proposed Con Co offshore wind power plant project. This project, with a capacity of 1,000MW, is planned to be located in the waters off Con Co Island and Gio Linh district in the central province of Quang Tri.
In addition, the southern province of Hau Giang aims to include the Long My 2 wind power plant project in the national power development plan VIII. This project, invested by Envision Energy (Hong Kong) Limited, based in Hong Kong, will help meet the power demand of the province and reduce dependence on electricity transmitted from other areas.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), they have received investment proposals for new power plants with a total capacity of up to 550,000MW from various localities. Notably, there are proposals for offshore wind power projects with a combined capacity of up to 129,000MW.
Several provinces have boldly proposed offshore wind power projects. Binh Thuan province in the central region has proposed eight projects with a total scale of over 22,000MW. Ninh Thuan province has proposed 21,000MW of offshore wind power. In the north, Haiphong, a northern port city, has proposed an offshore wind power project with a capacity of 3,900MW. Quang Ninh province has proposed 3,000MW of offshore wind power. Thai Binh province has proposed about 8,000MW of offshore wind power from two projects. Nam Dinh province has proposed adding 12,000MW of offshore wind power in four phases.
Vietnam’s Power Development Plan VIII aims to increase the share of renewable energy to 31-39% by 2030 and 67.5-71.5% by 2050. The plan includes developing onshore wind power to a capacity of 21,880MW by 2030 and offshore wind power to a capacity of 6,000MW. Further development of offshore wind power, up to a capacity of 70,000 to 91,500MW by 2050, will depend on technological capabilities and costs.
However, Bui Van Thinh, chairman of the Binh Thuan Wind Power Association, has warned about the risks associated with wind power projects, including the high investment rates and potential grid capacity limitations. He emphasized the need for careful planning to avoid financial and societal damages, especially for investors and banks unable to recover debts.