The Danish Energy Agency and Vietnamese authorities discuss steps to move offshore wind expansion forward in Vietnam

The Danish-Vietnamese Energy Partnership Programme is on track despite difficulties deriving from the coronavirus pandemic. Today, participants from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority including Director General Mr Hoàng Tien D?ng, Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands, Danish Embassy in Vietnam, the four coastal provinces Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan, and the Danish Energy Agency came together online to review the Input to Roadmap report for offshore wind development and discuss which steps the Vietnamese government can take to streamline this process.

“The organization of the high-level offshore wind webinar is a testament to the extraordinary government-to- government energy partnership, Vietnam and Denmark has developed since 2013. I am delighted to see that cooperation and activities within offshore wind are on track despite the coronavirus pandemic. Vietnam has a huge potential for offshore wind, which could play a key role in the green transition of the country,“ said Deputy Director General of the Danish Energy Agency, Martin Hansen.

Huge potential for offshore wind in Vietnam

The ever-increasing electricity consumption, averaging 10% a year during the past decade and dependence on imported fossil fuels, has made Vietnam search for additional clean sources of power generation in its upcoming 10-year power development plan (PDP8). The Danish Energy Agency has been engaged in providing support to the development plan, not least through the Vietnam Energy Outlook reports.

With over 3.000 km of coastline and some of the best offshore wind conditions in South East Asia, Vietnam is at the forefront of most coveted prospective offshore wind markets. The Danish Energy Agency and the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority of Vietnam (EREA) are preparing the Input to Roadmap report. The Input to Roadmap consolidates the quantitative findings of the background analyses carried out - resource mapping and site selection, LCOE estimation and transmission grid analysis, among others - and supplements them with regulatory, consent and permitting, support scheme, supply chain and other critical elements to arrive at a set of recommendations aimed at kick-starting a successful offshore wind industry in Vietnam. The final version is to be launched at a workshop in Hanoi on 9 September 2020.

Preliminary findings presented at today’s webinar emphasize that Vietnam has a technical potential of 160 GW. In comparison, there was approximately 29 GW offshore wind installed globally by the end of 2019. Denmark currently has 1.7 GW. Even after excluding sites that may ultimately prove not to be viable due to conflicts with other seabed uses or due to financial reasons, the potential for offshore wind along coastline remains very significant.

Vietnam is the only country in the region that has implemented nearshore wind with 99 MW already installed, and the abundant wind resources and large pipeline potential have attracted strong interest from the offshore wind industry.

Cooperation since 2013

• In 2013, Vietnam and Denmark entered a long-term cooperation agreement for the purpose of strengthening Vietnam’s transition to a low-carbon economy. It is financed by the Danish Climate Envelope and administered by the Danish Energy Agency.
• The Danish Energy Agency cooperates with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) in Vietnam through the joint Energy Partnership Programme (DEPP) between Vietnam and Denmark. The program is currently in its second phase (DEPP II) running from 2017 to 2020 and covers long-term scenario modeling of the energy sector, the integration of renewable energy in the power grid and energy efficiency in the industrial sector.
• DEPP III will be a five year program (2020-2025) commencing in November 2020. It will include an offshore wind component.
• Two energy advisors are expected to take up secondment within the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade during DEPP III, complemented by an advisor with focus on offshore wind who will be posted at the Danish Embassy in Hanoi.
• The Danish Energy Agency’s Centre for Global Cooperation partners with 15 other countries, who in combination account for more than 60% of global CO? emissions, sharing Danish experiences on shaping an energy system that combines a green, low-carbon and reliable energy supply with economic growth.