Paving the way for renewable energy development

At the workshop “Renewable energy in the Mekong Delta - Breakthrough in developing green economy , circular economy” on October 8, experts, managers and businesses said that wind power is becoming an important pillar in Vietnam's clean energy strategy, contributing to implementing the Net Zero 2050 commitment and restructuring the economy towards green and circular economy.

With a favorable location and great potential, Vinh Long is focusing on removing infrastructure bottlenecks and perfecting policy mechanisms to realize the expectation of becoming the region's renewable energy center.

Developing renewable energy is the province's strategic orientation in the coming period. Photo: Ba Thi

Implementation practices and challenges

Sharing at the workshop, Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Nhat Hanh - Project Development Director of Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE), said that the enterprise has successfully deployed the V1-3 Tra Vinh Wind Power Plant with an output of 150-160 million kWh/year, an operating rate of 98-99%, making a positive contribution to regional energy security. REE has also just launched 3 new wind power projects to celebrate the first Vinh Long Provincial Party Congress, term 2025-2030.

REE is currently developing 3 new projects in the Vinh Long sea area, with a total capacity of 176 MW, of which project V1-4 (48 MW) is expected to be commercially operational in November 2025. “Vinh Long (including the merged area with Ben Tre and Tra Vinh) has stable wind speeds, suitable for large-capacity turbines. However, when a series of new projects are put into operation, if investment in 110-500kV transmission infrastructure is slow, congestion and reduced investment efficiency will be inevitable,” said Ms. Hanh.

Enterprises recommended that the province speed up the work of converting land use purposes, compensation and site clearance, and approving site clearance plans. At the same time, they requested the sharing of transmission infrastructure between neighboring projects to limit land encroachment. "It is necessary to shorten the time for collecting inter-sectoral opinions to a maximum of 3 days and not request the same contents agreed upon in the previous stage" - she proposed.

Delegates asked questions to the speakers at the seminar "Renewable energy in the Mekong Delta - Breakthrough in green economic development, circular economy".

From a technical perspective, Mr. Nguyen Huu Chuong - Deputy Head of Power System, Power Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company 4, said that the ability to release capacity is a vital factor for the system. "If the investment progress of 110-220-500kV projects is slow, many areas will face overload and high power loss" - he said and recommended prioritizing the early operation of the 220kV Thanh Phu and Binh Dai transformer stations, increasing the capacity of the 500kV Duyen Hai transformer station, investing in new 500kV Ben Tre-Long An transformer stations and Tra Vinh 1-Song Hau Thermal Power Plant, to form a super high-voltage transmission connection circuit in the coastal region of the South.

According to Mr. Bui Van Thinh, representative of the Vietnam Renewable Energy Community, wind power is not only a clean energy source but also a "lever" for green economic development, job creation and attracting international investment. However, he said: "It is necessary to perfect the financial policy framework - electricity price to ensure attractiveness. A stable electricity price mechanism, a 25-year PPA, and payment guarantees will be the key to attracting international capital into this field."

In addition, it is necessary to soon develop green credit funds, green bonds, localize the supply chain of wind turbines and equipment, as well as invest in back-up energy storage technology (BESS) to ensure safe system operation.

Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, informed: "The industry and trade sector is coordinating with departments, branches and enterprises to update the power planning, especially the transmission infrastructure, to ensure synchronization with the Power Planning VIII. The province encourages socialization of investment in the power grid and application of energy storage technology, improving the ability to release capacity for wind power projects".

Complete planning to open roads

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuong - Senior Specialist, Electricity Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, emphasized: "The biggest difficulty now is the level of integration between planning types - from national, regional, provincial to communal levels. Power Plan VIII is a national sectoral plan, but it is closely linked to land use space and local infrastructure development, so there needs to be unified guidance to avoid overlap and prolong approval time."

Wind power is not only a clean energy source but also a “lever” for green economic development. In the photo: Wind turbines in the coastal area of Duyen Hai, Vinh Long.

According to Ms. Thuong, close coordination between power planning, land use planning and urban-rural planning is a prerequisite to speed up the progress of renewable energy projects. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is finalizing guidelines to determine the level of detail of the planning, and at the same time proposes to allow small technical changes in the project without having to adjust the planning, thereby significantly shortening the investment preparation time.

From an investment perspective, Mr. Pham Thy Hung - Deputy Director, Bidding Management Department, Ministry of Finance, said that the newly issued Decree No. 225 has removed the requirement for 1/2,000 zoning planning when bidding for renewable energy projects - an important step to remove procedural bottlenecks.

“International experience shows that bidding is an inevitable trend, but to be successful, a stable legal framework, transparent contracts and a reasonable risk-sharing mechanism between the State and investors are needed,” said Mr. Hung.

The Ministry of Finance is also promoting the digitalization of the entire bidding process on the National Bidding Network System, ensuring publicity, transparency and minimizing administrative costs. This is considered an important foundation to help attract the private sector to participate more strongly in the green energy sector.

The Mekong Delta has all the conditions to become the country’s renewable energy hub, especially for onshore and offshore wind power. Along with the potential is the urgent need for synchronous planning, investment in transmission grids and policies to encourage the private sector to participate more deeply in the clean energy value chain.

With the determination of the government and the support of the business community, Vinh Long wind power in particular and the Mekong Delta in general can completely become a breakthrough in the development of green economy and circular economy in Vietnam.

Mr. Nguyen Quynh Thien - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, said: "Developing renewable energy, especially wind power, is the strategic orientation of Vinh Long province in the coming period. The province considers this not only an economic and technical field but also a driving force to transform the growth model towards green and sustainable direction". Vinh Long is actively completing planning, investing in transmission infrastructure, and improving administrative procedures to create a favorable investment environment. "The provincial government will accompany businesses throughout the project implementation process - from planning, site clearance to operation - so that clean energy sources can soon be effective, contributing to the Net Zero 2050 target", he emphasized.

Article and photos: CAO HUYEN

Source: https://baovinhlong.com.vn/kinh-te/202510/mo-duong-phat-trien-nang-luong-tai-tao-1dc04e9/