Brian Hull, General Director of ABB Vietnam delivers a speech at the seminar. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Power drawn fromrenewable energy is expected to soar in the future, although the country’scapacity to integrate this source of energy into the national power grid isstill limited, possibly causing throttling on the network, heard attendants ata seminar held in Hanoi last week.
The seminar, entitled ‘Renewable EnergyIntegration: Challenges and Technology,’ co-organised by the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade (MOIT) and ABB Vietnam, aimed to explore the challenges inachieving Vietnam’s ambition to increase the generation and consumption ofrenewable energy, and how technology can help resolve them.
Nguyen Van Thanh, Deputy Director of theElectric and Renewable Energy Department under the Ministry of Industry andTrade, said Vietnam has seen rapid development of power plants which posedgreat challenges to transmission networks.
According to Vietnam’s Power Development MasterPlan for the 2016-2020 period (PDP VII), the demand for electricity consumptionin Vietnam will increase by about 10-11 percent annually, which exceeds theannual GDP growth rate.
As one of the fastest growing economies in theregion, Vietnam is experiencing rapid industrialisation. In parallel with theindustrialisation process, people tend to move to cities and vast urbanisationis taking place. To support socio-economic development sustainably, the countryis encouraging renewable energy development to reduce the dependence on fossilfuel based energy.
Under the plan, the total designed capacity ofsolar power generation must amount to 850MW in 2020 and 4,000MW by 2025.Meanwhile, the total capacity of solar and wind power set for 2030 are 12,000MWand 6,000MW, respectively.
“However, fossil fuel accounted for more thanhalf the country’s power in 2017 according to an annual report by Electricityof Vietnam (EVN),” he said.
The PDP VII outlines active steps that Vietnamis taking to develop renewable energy resources in order to meet the country’selectricity demand, in which renewable energy will account for 10 percent ofthe country’s power generation by 2030 (12 GW).
The plan also outlines the need to invest in apower transmission grid with flexible operation and high automationcapabilities from electricity transmission to distribution; as well asdeveloping unmanned substations and substations.
In addition, it highlights the need toaccelerate electrification in rural and mountainous areas to ensure access toelectricity of households by 2020.
Sharing the opinions, Nguyen Minh Quang fromPower System Analysis and Planning under the EVN’s National Load DispatchCentre, said Vietnam produces more than 170 billion kWh from fossil fuel basedenergies such as coal and gas.
“Vietnam has had to import coal for powergeneration since 2017. The investment for thermal power plants facesdifficulties due to capital shortage as banks have not encouraged lending tocoal-fired electricity plants but renewable energies,” Quang said.
However, power grid conditions are not preparedto adopt this kind of energy, he added.
It takes three years, on average, to build apower grid project, while a solar power project needs only one year to be putin place. As a result, electric grid development cannot catch up with theproliferation of solar and wind power projects.
Brian Hull, General Director of ABB Vietnam,noted that Vietnam should apply advanced technology to cope with challenges inits power system. Simultaneously, the country should upgrade electric load andcontrolling systems, to ensure it can promptly tackle potential incidents.
Venu Nuguri, Group Senior Vice President forABB’s Power Grids Division in South Asia, Middle East and Africa, said as thecountry moves towards clean energy, the power grid will need to adapt to theinflux of renewable energy, which is intermittent and also characterised bydistributed generation.
“Not only does this call for wider industrycollaboration and policy discussions, it is also important to make the right technologychoices. Technology will enable the grid to be flexible and adapt to the newrealities of distributed generation and multi-directional power flow.Digitalisation is key to create the power grid of the future,” headded.-VNS/VNA
The seminar, entitled ‘Renewable EnergyIntegration: Challenges and Technology,’ co-organised by the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade (MOIT) and ABB Vietnam, aimed to explore the challenges inachieving Vietnam’s ambition to increase the generation and consumption ofrenewable energy, and how technology can help resolve them.
Nguyen Van Thanh, Deputy Director of theElectric and Renewable Energy Department under the Ministry of Industry andTrade, said Vietnam has seen rapid development of power plants which posedgreat challenges to transmission networks.
According to Vietnam’s Power Development MasterPlan for the 2016-2020 period (PDP VII), the demand for electricity consumptionin Vietnam will increase by about 10-11 percent annually, which exceeds theannual GDP growth rate.
As one of the fastest growing economies in theregion, Vietnam is experiencing rapid industrialisation. In parallel with theindustrialisation process, people tend to move to cities and vast urbanisationis taking place. To support socio-economic development sustainably, the countryis encouraging renewable energy development to reduce the dependence on fossilfuel based energy.
Under the plan, the total designed capacity ofsolar power generation must amount to 850MW in 2020 and 4,000MW by 2025.Meanwhile, the total capacity of solar and wind power set for 2030 are 12,000MWand 6,000MW, respectively.
“However, fossil fuel accounted for more thanhalf the country’s power in 2017 according to an annual report by Electricityof Vietnam (EVN),” he said.
The PDP VII outlines active steps that Vietnamis taking to develop renewable energy resources in order to meet the country’selectricity demand, in which renewable energy will account for 10 percent ofthe country’s power generation by 2030 (12 GW).
The plan also outlines the need to invest in apower transmission grid with flexible operation and high automationcapabilities from electricity transmission to distribution; as well asdeveloping unmanned substations and substations.
In addition, it highlights the need toaccelerate electrification in rural and mountainous areas to ensure access toelectricity of households by 2020.
Sharing the opinions, Nguyen Minh Quang fromPower System Analysis and Planning under the EVN’s National Load DispatchCentre, said Vietnam produces more than 170 billion kWh from fossil fuel basedenergies such as coal and gas.
“Vietnam has had to import coal for powergeneration since 2017. The investment for thermal power plants facesdifficulties due to capital shortage as banks have not encouraged lending tocoal-fired electricity plants but renewable energies,” Quang said.
However, power grid conditions are not preparedto adopt this kind of energy, he added.
It takes three years, on average, to build apower grid project, while a solar power project needs only one year to be putin place. As a result, electric grid development cannot catch up with theproliferation of solar and wind power projects.
Brian Hull, General Director of ABB Vietnam,noted that Vietnam should apply advanced technology to cope with challenges inits power system. Simultaneously, the country should upgrade electric load andcontrolling systems, to ensure it can promptly tackle potential incidents.
Venu Nuguri, Group Senior Vice President forABB’s Power Grids Division in South Asia, Middle East and Africa, said as thecountry moves towards clean energy, the power grid will need to adapt to theinflux of renewable energy, which is intermittent and also characterised bydistributed generation.
“Not only does this call for wider industrycollaboration and policy discussions, it is also important to make the right technologychoices. Technology will enable the grid to be flexible and adapt to the newrealities of distributed generation and multi-directional power flow.Digitalisation is key to create the power grid of the future,” headded.-VNS/VNA
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