Hanoi (VNA) – With huge potential for wind powerdevelopment, Vietnam will be an attractive investment destination if it has astable and long-term legal framework, said Director for Asia at the Global WindEnergy Council (GWEC) Liming Qiao.

A report delivered at a workshop in Hanoi onJune 11 noted that by the end of 2018, the total capacity of wind powerturbines installed in Vietnam was about 228 MW, a modest figure compared tothose in other markets in the world.

The Vietnamese Government aims to raise thisfigure to 800 MW by the end of 2020, 2 GW by 2025 and 6 GW by 2030.

Benoit Nguyen, head of the renewables advisorysection at the DNV GL energy company, said Southeast Asia, including Vietnam,boasts great potential as wind speeds here average 6.5 – 7.5 metres per second,and wind turbine towers with the height of 120 metres can operate in thiscondition.

He noted the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme – theselling prices of electricity from renewable energy sources sold to the grid orused on the spot – is also very good, 8.5 US cent per kWh for onshore windpower projects and 9.8 US cent per kWh for offshore projects, not to mentionother incentives like exemption of equipment import tariffs and corporateincome taxes. 

They are the advantages for Vietnam to attract moreinvestment to this field, he said.

However, the problem facing investors is how toput their projects into operation before November 1, 2021 to benefit from thebest FITs under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 39/2018/QD-TTg, which reviseda decision in 2011 on mechanisms supporting wind power development in thecountry.

He also pointed out many risks to these projectslike commercial risks and policy vagaries.

Liming Qiao from the GWEC said Vietnam shouldmake stronger efforts to improve the efficiency and transparency of regulationsand the procurement process. 

Power purchase agreements need to bestandardized while the project approval process needs to be simplified and moretransparent to promote investment in this market, she added.

At the workshop, many participants said withdecreasing equipment prices and better technologies, the capacity andefficiency of wind power projects will be improved. 

The remaining issue is how to mobilise capitalfor projects, they said, suggesting the mobilisation of investment frominternational financial sources be stepped up.-VNA