Deputy Prime Minister: Piloting the use of budget to survey offshore wind power projects

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is assigned to work with agencies to develop a pilot project using the budget to explore, investigate, survey and select investors for offshore wind power projects.

This direction was stated by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha when concluding a meeting to resolve difficulties for offshore wind power and gas power projects on January 25.

According to the National Power Development Plan (Power Plan VIII) to 2030, offshore wind power will reach about 6,000 MW by 2030, which can increase further if technology develops rapidly, electricity prices and transmission costs are reasonable. However, to date, no project has been decided on in principle and assigned to an investor.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan said that offshore wind power projects are facing problems, as there are no unified regulations on handing over sea areas to organizations and individuals using non-budgetary funds to conduct investigations, surveys, exploration, and measurements.

These power source projects also face problems in handing over sea areas to foreign investors; bidding and selecting investors; or interference and conflicts with sea exploitation and use activities, ensuring national security and defense.

To remove difficulties and soon pilot a number of offshore wind power projects, at today's meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested the Ministry of Industry and Trade, based on initial assessment data on offshore wind power potential, to work with ministries and branches to develop a pilot project using the State budget to explore, investigate, and survey offshore wind power projects, and approve policies and select investors.

The Government leaders also agreed to establish an inter-sectoral working group to resolve difficulties for offshore wind and gas power projects. This working group is chaired by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, with the participation of the Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment, National Defense, Public Security, Planning & Investment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Transport, etc.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting to resolve difficulties in LNG and offshore wind power on January 25. Photo: VGP — Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting to resolve difficulties in LNG and offshore wind power on January 25. Photo: *VGP*

In addition to legal solutions, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Quy Kien recommended that in the immediate future, it is necessary to study and consider the option of assigning state-owned enterprises such as EVN and PVN to investigate, survey, measure, and determine the potential for offshore wind power.

According to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Do Thanh Trung, to ensure the progress and goals of the planning, it is necessary to implement investment processes and procedures for offshore gas and wind power projects, in parallel with amending and supplementing regulations.

According to the National Power Development Plan (Power Plan VIII) by 2030, gas-fired thermal power sources must be newly invested in over 30,420 MW, of which 75% is LNG power (22,824 MW). However, there are currently many obstacles in the development of these two power sources, such as the lack of legal basis for negotiating power purchase agreements (PPA) with long-term output commitment, and the mechanism for transferring gas prices to electricity prices for LNG power projects.

In fact, a gas-fired power project from the investment preparation stage (selecting contractors, preparing and approving feasibility study reports or negotiating power purchase contracts) usually takes 7-8 years. With offshore wind power, the implementation time is 6-8 years from the time of survey. Therefore, investing and implementing projects to meet the operational schedule before 2030 is a challenge.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that it is necessary to build new mechanisms and policies, not just stop at the pilot level, because investing in offshore gas and wind power projects is a new field and regulations are not clear.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha stated that resolving difficulties in gas and wind power projects is closely related to implementing the targets of the 8th power plan, ensuring energy security to serve socio-economic development, and attracting investment environment.

Therefore, Mr. Ha assigned relevant ministries and branches to review and consider the entire investment procedures for offshore wind and gas power projects, then propose solutions to reduce the time for implementing investment procedures for these power source projects.

Mr. Minh

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