A wind farm in Bac Lieu province (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The World Bank has recommended 20actions that address three priority themes for Vietnam’s successful offshore windindustry.
The ‘Offshore Wind Roadmap for Vietnam’ report is the outcome of a study that followed an invitation from the Vietnamese Government to theWB. It was carried out from February to October 2020.
According to the WB, by 2035, there will be about 450 largeoffshore wind turbines operating in Vietnam, installed at about 10 large conventionalfixed offshore wind farms and one or two at floating ones.
In addition, based on leases issued to date, there will beabout 30 smaller nearshore wind farms using smaller turbines.
The WB warned that nearshore projects in proximity to keybiodiversity areas, critical habitats, and sensitive natural habitats willlikely result in very high environmental impacts and may be unlikely to meet WBGroup environmental and social standards.
The cost of energy of the first offshore wind projects willlikely be high, at 150-200 USD/MWh, due to a lower capacity factor,limited use of local suppliers, and small project scale.
Experience from other markets has shown that the cost ofenergy quickly reduces as more capacity is built out, with risks reducing andlocal capability increasing. In this scenario, the cost of energy of projectscan be expected to reduce to around 80–90 USD/MWh by 2030 and 60–70 USD/MWh by2035.
Under high growth scenario, with significant expansion ofoffshore wind resulting in offshore wind supplying 12 percent of Vietnam’selectricity needs by 2035, levelised cost of energy is projected to be 20percent lower.
Local jobs will quadruple and there will be more value addedto the economy. Consumers will enjoy less than half the net cost, according tothe report.
Experience in developed offshore wind markets suggest thatambitious, long-term targets can serve as cornerstones for industry development,it continued.
The results of this roadmap suggest that a target of 10 GWby 2030 and 25 GW by 2035 would likely accomplish this objective. At the sametime, a consequence of higher growth is a higher risk of adverse environmentaland social impacts.
This places even greater importance on the need to develop amarine spatial plan and a framework for environmental legislation to be put inplace before development leases are issued./.
