Vietnam’s strong and growing demand for energy has put the country in a situation in which it needs to seek alternatives for the power development in the next decades. 
Valerie Dijkstra, Project Director, EDF Asia. Photo: Neoventure/Mavis Feng
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Indeed, the demand growth of 13% per year since 2015 and roughly 8.5% by 2030 has prompted a coal-diversification policy to feed one of the world’s fast-growing economies, according to Valerie Dijkstra, project director, EDF Asia.
The rising power demand particularly in the southern region has drawn concerns by the Ministry of Industry and Trade about power shortage possibly from 2020 and gas shortage by 2022 in a report released in early June 2019, Ms. Dijkstra said at Vietnam LNG-to-Power Summit 2019 held in Hanoi on September 19-20.
Under the government’s Power Development Plan for 2011-2020 and vision to 2030 (PPVII) with revision made in March 2016, the country’s power installation generation capacity would be 130,000MW by 2030, including 10,000MW of new gas capacity.
The planning results in an effort to reduce coal import to lessen dependence on China and reduce Vietnam’s vulnerability to climate change pursuant to the Paris Agreement which Hanoi signed in 2016, Ms. Dijkstra said.
For that reason, Valerie Dijkstra highlighted the importance of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the future energy mix in Vietnam.
Vietnam's gas supply-demand balance outlook. Source: IHS Markit
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She demonstrated the local gas production capacity and the demand for power, including LNG-to-Power for Vietnam from 2019 to 2049.
Ms. Dijkstra believed that strong demand and source diversification will promote gas projects and LNG import, given the government’s decision taken in October 2016 on canceling civil nuclear power programs.
The domestic gas shortage and the growing concerns about coal-fired power will quicken the energy transition in Vietnam, she noted.
Phu My 2.2 Power Complex. Photo: EVNEIC
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EDF operations in Vietnam
France-based EDF, one of the world’s leading electricity companies, ranks No.1 in France and No.2 in Italy, Belgium, and the UK, among the 100 most sustainable corporations in the globe, and the top 100 largest companies in the world.
EDF has been in Vietnam for two decades, focusing on low carbon generation with the stake in the 715-megawatt Phu My 2.2 natural gas-fired plant located in Vietnam’s southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.
EDF holds a 56.25% interest of the project which is the first independent power project (IPP) in Vietnam.
Statistics cited by Ms. Dijkstra showed that Phu My 2.2 is one of the top two Vietnamese power stations in terms of operation and maintenance (O&M) performance. So far, the plant dispatched up to 63.9TWh (63.9 billion kWh) as of 2018.
Phu My 2.2 is a strong legacy for EDF’s a new project in Vietnam – Son My 1 LNG-to-power project (located in the central province of Binh Thuan) that EDF holds a 37.5% stake.
Son My 1 – the first combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) integrated in a LNG-to-power chain for Vietnam - fully aligned with Vietnam’s energy transition goal to improve carbon footprint, Dijkstra said, noting that it’s the first of a kind to support Vietnam’s energy transition.
With an installed capacity of 2,250MW, Son My 1 is scheduled for feasibility study update validation and memorandum of understanding signing in 2018-2019, for project contract negotiations (BOT, GSA, PPA, EPC, Government Guarantee and Undertaking, Land Lease Agreement, Financial, etc.) in 2020-2021, and for construction in 2022-2025.
