To meet the growing need for power in national development, the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) plans to ramp up its investment in renewable energy in the next years.
The company has made a proposal to the government on measures to support the development of renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, as well as storage technologies.
EVN intends to put roughly 5,500 MW of renewable electricity into service by 2025, with 4,000 MW from wind power and 1,500 MW from solar power, to avoid power shortages, particularly in northern areas.
The group has also requested authorization from the government to build offshore wind power in the northern region to improve electricity supply and assure national power security.
Electricity demand is growing as Vietnam makes all-out efforts for socioeconomic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic is put under control.
According to the power development plan for 2022, EVN can offer enough power to the central and southern regions. The northern region may encounter a water deficit at times, notably during extreme heat waves.
The country’s northern area has become a hub for the electronics, automobiles, and machinery sectors in recent years. As a result, it accounts for about half of national power demand, and electricity needs in the region is expected to rise faster than the national average.
Meanwhile, few new generation sources are planned to come online in the north this year, while power transmission from the center and southern regions is hindered by the transmission network’s limited capacity.
In fact, renewable energy has grown rapidly in Vietnam over the last three years, with total electricity from those sources currently exceeding 21,000 MW, accounting for one-third of total national power capacity.
However, the majority of renewable electricity generation sources are concentrated in the southern region, causing distribution issues in the country.
