A forum about the benefits of localizing the OFW supply chain in Việt Nam. Photos courtesy of GWEC

HÀ NỘI — The Government needs to have a clear marine spatial planning approach and improve Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) bankability to attract international finance.

This is one of the key messages conveyed by participants joining the Vietnam Wind Power Conference 2022 (VWP2022) held by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) on December 1-2 in Hà Nội.

The event also saw the attendance of representatives of the General Department of Electricity & Renewable Energy, representatives of the Electricity & Renewable Energy Administration, the Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Germany and UK embassies, and well-known project developers, suppliers and associations from around the world.

The conference was designed to share global Offshore Wind (OFW) development experiences, while local experts also shared the OFW development challenges in Việt Nam, policy and infrastructural planning, as well as other missing pieces for OFW to reach its potential of 7+GW of OFW in Việt Nam.

Openning remarks from Mr. Mark Hutchison, Head of Asia, GWEC

Given the scale of OFW, the current PPA has worked for onshore wind and solar, but OFW projects require substantial volumes of finance, and will likely require a consortium of international and domestic banks, multilaterals and export credit agencies (ECAs).

The Power Development Plan 8 Draft’s target of 7+ GW of OFW by 2030 is a major milestone – the OFW industry can help improve Việt Nam’s energy security, provide predictable costs and create tens of thousands of quality jobs. Given that it takes six to eight years to bring online an OFW farm, urgent clarity on policies and regulations is needed to ensure the 2030 target of 7+GW can be met.

With the aim to reach 7 GW of Offshore Wind (OFW) power installation capacity by 2030 in the latest draft PDP8, Việt Nam will move closer to the Government's goal of net-zero carbon emissions and phasing out use of fossil fuels.

Therefore, GWEC has recommended that “an inter-ministerial committee be established to help remove bottlenecks in permitting and regulatory processes and that 4 GW of demonstration projects be used to kickstart the industry, before switching to the bidding mechanism.” VNS