Renewable energy in Vietnam

Vietnam utilizes four main sources of renewable energy: hydroelectricity, wind power, solar power and biomass.[1] At the end of 2018, hydropower was the largest source of renewable energy, contributing about 40% to the total national electricity capacity.[2] In 2020, wind and solar had a combined share of 10% of the country's electrical generation, already meeting the government's 2030 goal, suggesting future displacement of growth of coal capacity.[3] By the end of 2020, the total installed capacity of solar and wind power had reached over 17 GW.[4] Over 25% of total power capacity is from variable renewable energy sources (wind, solar). The commercial biomass electricity generation is currently slow and limited to valorizing bagasse only, but the stream of forest products, agricultural and municipal waste is increasing. The government is studying a renewable portfolio standard that could promote this energy source.

While wind and solar investment remains attractive in Vietnam, existing capacity is under-utilized due to lack of electric transmission capacity and lack of a replacement for the expired feed-in tariff.[5]

The lead-up to the expiration of the initial solar feed-in tariff (FIT) of US$93.5/MWh saw a large increase in Vietnam's installed capacity of solar photovoltaic (PV), from 86 MW in 2018 to about 4.5 GW by the end of June 2019.[6] The number reached about 16.5 GW as of the end of 2020.[4] This represents an annualized installation rate of about 90 W per capita per annum, placing Vietnam among world leaders. As of 2019, Vietnam has the highest installed capacity in Southeast Asia.[6] In 2020, there are 102 solar power plants operating in the country with a total capacity of 6.3 GW. As of 2021, Vietnam has become one of the most successful ASEAN countries in attracting investment in renewable energy and promoting various types of renewables within the country.[7][8]

Vietnam has the largest offshore wind power potential amount ASEAN countries, with over 470 GW technical potential within 200 km of the coast. This is equivalent to about 6 times the country's total installed capacity of any source as of 2022.[9] This offers opportunities for meeting domestic demand as well as exporting other countries such as Singapore.

  1. ^ "VIETNAM RENEWABLE ENERGY OPTIONS". 27 September 2021.
  2. ^ Diệu Thúy (2019-06-21). "Phát triển năng lượng tái tạo- Bài 1: Cơ hội cho điện gió và điện mặt trời". bnews.vn.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Do, Thang Nam; Burke, Paul J.; Nguyen, Hoang Nam; Overland, Indra; Suryadi, Beni; Swandaru, Akbar; Yurnaidi, Zulfikar (2021-12-01). "Vietnam's solar and wind power success: Policy implications for the other ASEAN countries". Energy for Sustainable Development. 65: 1–11. doi:10.1016/j.esd.2021.09.002. hdl:1885/248804. ISSN 0973-0826.
  5. ^ Le, Lam. "After renewables frenzy, Vietnam's solar energy goes to waste". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  6. ^ a b Do, Thang Nam; Burke, Paul J.; Baldwin, Kenneth G.H.; Nguyen, Chinh The (September 2020). "Underlying drivers and barriers for solar photovoltaics diffusion: The case of Vietnam". Energy Policy. 144: 111561. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111561. hdl:1885/206307. S2CID 225245522.
  7. ^ Overland, Indra; Sagbakken, Haakon Fossum; Chan, Hoy-Yen; Merdekawati, Monika; Suryadi, Beni; Utama, Nuki Agya; Vakulchuk, Roman (December 2021). "The ASEAN climate and energy paradox". Energy and Climate Change. 2: 100019. doi:10.1016/j.egycc.2020.100019. hdl:11250/2734506.
  8. ^ Vakulchuk, Roman; Chan, Hoy-Yen; Kresnawan, Muhammad Rizki; Merdekawati, Monika; Overland, Indra; Sagbakken, Haakon Fossum; Suryadi, Beni; Utama, Nuki Agya; Yurnaidi, Zulfikar (2020). "Vietnam: Six Ways to Keep Up the Renewable Energy Investment Success". Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. JSTOR resrep26568. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ^ Do, Thang Nam; Burke, Paul, J.; Hughes, Llewelyn; Ta, Dinh Thi (2022). "Policy options for offshore wind power in Vietnam". Marine Policy. 141 (105080): 105080. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105080. hdl:1885/275544. S2CID 248957321.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)