Vietnam can import wind power from Laos

Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) has just sent document No. 7486/EVN-KH+TTD to the Ministry of Industry and Trade regarding the policy of importing wind power projects from Lao PDR to Quang Tri province, Vietnam.

Vietnam can import wind power from Laos. Illustration photo: VNA

In this document, EVN proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to appraise and submit to the Prime Minister the policy of importing electricity from the Truong Son wind power plant, and to supplement the planning of power lines for connection. The price of purchasing electricity from this project is 6.95 US cents/kWh, equivalent to about 1,700 VND/kWh.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry has sent a document requesting ministries, branches and localities to comment on the policy of purchasing wind power from the Truong Son wind power plant, with a capacity of 250 MW from Bolikhamsai province (Laos) to Vietnam as proposed by EVN.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said the plant will be operational in the fourth quarter of 2025. The investor committed to applying the ceiling price of electricity imported from Laos to Vietnam for the wind power plant type at 6.95 US cents/kWh (equivalent to about 1,700 VND/kWh).

“To import electricity from this plant to Vietnam, a new 220 kV double-circuit line with a length of 75 km will be built from the 220 kV transformer station of Truong Son wind power plant to the 220 kV feeder at the 220 kV transformer station of Do Luong in Nghe An province, Vietnam,” said the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

To meet the project completion schedule in 2025, the project investor - Viet Lao Energy Investment and Development Joint Stock Company has sent a document to EVN proposing to sell electricity from this project to Vietnam. Accordingly, the investor proposed to invest in the entire grid connection project to connect Truong Son wind power plant to Vietnam's power system using the project's capital.

Previously, in a report sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, EVN said: The governments of Laos and Vietnam have agreed to import a minimum of electricity from Laos to Vietnam until 2020 with a capacity of about 1,000 MW. The amount of imported electricity until 2025 is about 3,000 MW and until 2030 is about 5,000 MW. As of the end of October, the Prime Minister approved the policy of importing electricity from sources in Laos with a total capacity of 2,689 MW.

“EVN has signed 19 power purchase agreements (PPAs) to purchase electricity from 26 power plants in Laos with a total capacity of 2,240 MW. Of these, seven projects have been put into commercial operation with a total capacity of 806 MW and it is expected that by 2025, an additional 1,171 MW can be put into operation,” said the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

According to the report, up to now, the total power capacity in Laos that has been approved to import electricity to Vietnam and can be put into operation by 2025 is only about 1,977 MW, much lower than the import scale according to the memorandum of understanding./.

Vu Hoa