Vietnam on course to implement 2030 Offshore Wind Roadmap

The Hanoi Times — The Vietnamese Government has instructed the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to diversify energy sources while ensuring that the timelines for offshore wind and LNG power projects remain unchanged, despite earlier proposals to delay them beyond 2030.

According to the Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8), Vietnam aims to develop 6,000 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. However, no projects have received official approval or investment allocation.

In a draft revision of PDP8, the MoIT proposed to delay offshore wind development until after 2030, with a target of 17,000 MW by 2035. In addition, the revised plan proposes to defer some delayed LNG power projects beyond 2030, reducing the planned capacity for the next five years to 8,824 MW-13,576 MW lower than the original target in PDP8.

However, the government has instructed the ministry to stick to the original timetable and ensure that all LNG and offshore wind projects are completed before 2030. The ministry has also been tasked with developing a diversified energy mix while maintaining baseload power at over 50% of total capacity. To achieve this, the government emphasized increasing the share of LNG while reducing coal-fired power.

The ministry must work closely with domestic and foreign investors to resolve bottlenecks, prevent delays, and optimize resources. It's necessary to address regulatory challenges, particularly around pricing mechanisms for LNG power and long-term contracted power.

 The World Bank previously estimated Vietnam's offshore wind potential at around 600 GW, with the capacity to meet 12% of the country's electricity demand by 2035.

Recently, several international investors have expressed interest in Vietnam's offshore wind sector. Pacifico Energy pledged billions of dollars in investment during a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 12. Similarly, Sembcorp Chairman Tow Heng Tan proposed a joint Vietnam-Singapore offshore wind training and cooperation initiative during the official visit paid by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam in March 11-13. Meanwhile, Denmark's CIP Group has also partnered with Vietnam's state-owned PVN to explore offshore wind development.

More than two years ago, 36 domestic investors applied to study offshore wind, but the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment halted approvals, citing legal uncertainties.

Vietnam has set a minimum GDP growth target of 8% this year and aims for double-digit growth between 2026 and 2030. To meet future electricity demand, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed increasing the country's total installed power capacity to 211,805 MW by 2030, about 56,000 MW higher than the current PDP8 target.

To achieve this, the ministry proposes to expand renewable energy, imported electricity, and flexible thermal power capacity. This includes nearly quadrupling solar power to over 34,000 MW, scaling up pumped hydro and battery storage sixfold, and increasing electricity imports from China and Laos.

The government emphasized that revisions to PDP8 should promote the development of renewable energy, especially for self-production and consumption models such as rooftop solar. The government also wants to promote direct power purchase agreements and explore power exports to ASEAN countries.

For grid development, the ministry needs to align transmission infrastructure with generation expansion, including offshore transmission grids to support marine wind projects. Transmission studies for exports to Singapore, Malaysia, and Cambodia should also be included.

The revised PDP8 must also address the growing demand for electricity from large consumers such as data centers, semiconductor manufacturing facilities, and AI technology facilities. Policymakers must ensure that energy-intensive industries have sufficient power.