Many opportunities to develop offshore wind power

27/04/2023

Developing renewable energy, in which offshore wind power is identified as one of the effective energy transition solutions. Many domestic and international experts have pointed out that Vietnam is a maritime country with great potential for offshore wind power exploitation.

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Dr. Ta Dinh Thi, Chairman of the Committee on Science, Technology and Environment of the National Assembly, mentioned very interesting numbers about the potential of wind power in our waters.

According to calculations, in the area with a seabed depth of over 20m, the total scale of offshore wind power engineering potential is about 165,000 MW. Areas of high wind and good economic potential are mainly in the provinces of Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, and Binh Dinh, with a total potential of about 80,000 MW.

A representative of the Electricity and Renewable Energy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that according to the draft Power Plan VIII being completed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, it is expected that the total wind power capacity will be raised from about 4,000MW in 2022 to about 4,000MW in 2022. 23,000MW by 2030.

According to research by the World Bank (WB), with a coastline of more than 3,000km, Vietnam has great potential for wind energy. Vietnam has been implementing many onshore and nearshore wind energy development projects, and at the same time launching offshore wind power projects. However, to develop offshore wind power, Vietnam will face many challenges.

On that basis, EVN proposed to the Government to soon approve the power plan VIII and the national marine spatial plan, and complete the provisions of the law on investment, construction, and operation of offshore wind power projects. , and at the same time attract investment by upgrading infrastructure systems such as seaports, ships, and auxiliary vehicles... to meet development requirements.

According to Dr. Nguyen Minh Son (Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology), there should be in-depth research to identify criteria and priority areas to encourage wind power development; support the licensing of sea use, and investment orientation from the management agency.

Offshore wind power development is a content closely related to the marine spatial planning being assigned by the Government to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval in the near future. According to Dr. Ta Dinh Thi, with the goal of sustainable development of the marine economy, environmental protection, ecosystem and biodiversity conservation, defense, security, and foreign affairs assurance, and effective international cooperation As a result, the sea area is expected to be classified into areas where exploitation is prohibited, areas of conditional exploitation, areas encouraged for development for marine economic sectors, areas that need special protection for national defense and security, environmental protection, ecosystem conservation and planning research area. The delimitation of such planning will identify potential marine areas and suitable zoning for offshore wind power development.