The sea from Quy Nhon to Ho Chi Minh City is considered one of the areas with the greatest potential for offshore wind power production in the world, with average wind speeds of 7-11 metres per second, experts have said.

The assessment was provided at a roundtable discussion on the development of offshore wind power in Vietnam with Dutch experience, held by the Dutch Embassy in Vietnam in collaboration with the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in Hanoi on April 9.

Speaking at the event, Do Duc Quan, Deputy Head of the MoIT’s Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority, said that the demand for energy in Vietnam, especially electricity during 2020-2030, would be huge, as energy demand is increasing, while energy supply is and will be facing challenges, amidst traditional energy sources such as hydropower, coal, oil and gas that are gradually depleted and difficult to develop.

In such context, considering the exploitation of renewable energy sources, the Vietnamese government aims to produce 10.7% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030. It targets that the total wind power capacity will reach about 1,000 MW by 2020 and 6,200 MW by 2030.

Currently, Vietnam’s total installed wind power capacity is about 190MW, with four wind farms onshore and near shore with a capacity of 6 MW to 100 MW each, while an additional of 263 MW of wind power is under construction and 412 MW is in the process of appraisal approval. Approximately 4,236 MW have been approved, raising the total registered wind power capacity to 10,729 MW.

With great advantages in wind power, especially the sea area from Quy Nhon city, in Binh Dinh province, to HCM City, offshore wind energy in Vietnam has yet been fully exploited. Meanwhile, the Netherlands is one of the top five countries in the world in research and development of offshore energy. The Dutch experience would be useful to Vietnam in selecting the optimal solution for the development of offshore wind power in the most appropriate way, Quan emphasised.