A power development plan published by Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) foresees a doubling of wind energy production by 2030 and a tripling of renewable energy production between 2030 and 2045.

The national power development plan VIII (PDPVIII) contains plans to increase wind energy production from 600MW in 2020 to over 11 gigawatts (GW) – 12GW in 2030 and solar power will grow to 19GW–20GW in 2030. 35 potential offshore wind projects are included in the plan.

Total renewable energy generation from wind and solar sources will reach 39.8GW by 2030 and 121.7GW by 2045 under the plan.

The plan also covers traditional energy generation. Gas thermal power’s installed capacity will reach around 28 GW by 2030 and 66GW by 2045. There are 41 potential gas-to-power projects in PDPVIII and at least nine of them have attracted international investors, a report said.

Coal-fired power’s share of generation capacity will decline, from 27% or 37GW in 2030 to 18% or 49GW by 2045.

It said the MOIT does not plan any development of new coal-fired power plants, except for those currently under construction and those due to be operational in five years.

In addition to the planned new capacity, given the current issues around grid overload and power curtailment, the PDPVIII also addresses the expansion and upgrade of the existing transmission network and investment in new transmission lines and substations by the MOIT.

John Yeap of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law, said: “The PDPVIII was prepared within the context of a policy priority to decarbonize whilst meeting the anticipated load growth. It takes a three-pronged approach: firstly reducing reliance on coal, secondly using gas as a transition fuel so as to enable large baseload capacities to be added, and thirdly prioritising the use of its natural intermittent energy resources. This should enable Vietnam to deliver on its policy priority.”

“Just as importantly, the PDPVIII recognised the need for investments in its transmission and distribution network. Vietnam is a long and narrow nation, which means generation from certain renewable energy sources may have to be transmitted across great distances. This, coupled with the increasing proportion of intermittent generation on the system, has resulted in the current curtailment challenges, which the plan seeks to address,” he said.