According to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the Government has tasked the National Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) with conducting research, developing offshore power transmission lines, and promoting offshore wind power.

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On December 3, during COP28 in Dubai (UAE), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh revealed the information during his meeting with Mr Ian Hatton, Chairman of Enterprize Energy Group (UK), and Mr Robert Helms, Member of the Board of Directors of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners Group (Denmark).

Government representatives congratulated the two companies for their interest in investing in Vietnam's wind power industry and helping to carry out the country's promise to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. After announcing the commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2021, Vietnam has implemented 12 groups of solutions, including the policy of strongly developing the renewable energy industry.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Mr. Robert Helms, Member of the Board of Directors of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners Group (Denmark) and Mr. Ian Hatton, Chairman of Enterprize Energy Group (UK) on the morning of December 3. Photo: Nhat Bac

The Prime Minister said he had assigned Petrovietnam to research and build a power transmission line at sea; "This is a very new thing in Vietnam". The Vietnamese side also signed a contract to sell renewable electricity to Singapore to build a power transmission line in this country.

Vietnam will survey suitable power transmission systems and offshore wind power reserves. These currently being researched projects align with Power Plan 8. The prime minister stated, "The price and electricity transmission system is important."

Vietnam will survey offshore wind power reserves and appropriate power transmission systems. These ongoing research initiatives complement Power Plan 8. "The price and electricity transmission system is important," declared the prime minister.

The prime minister revealed that electricity costs vary between industrialized and developing nations. As a result, both parties' electricity rates need to be reasonable.
With 600 GW of offshore wind power potential, Vietnam is a prime destination for corporate offshore wind power projects that the prime minister expects will be implemented shortly. "Vietnam is a tropical monsoon country, with many conditions to realize the policy of developing the renewable electricity industry," remarked the prime minister.

At the same time, Vietnam will continue to build institutions to develop the renewable industry, prioritizing attracting investors with tax, price, and land policies... Any problems investors will receive will be approved by Vietnam's authorities to coordinate dismantling and handling. The spirit is to do a few projects to gain experience and expand quickly.

According to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan, Vietnam's wind reserves and offshore wind potential would contribute to the viability of investment projects.

Petrovietnam General Director Le Manh Hung said he is surveying offshore wind reserves across the entire Vietnamese continental shelf, building a database for the Government to call for investment and have appropriate policies. The Group is cooperating with many large businesses worldwide to build a list of offshore wind power projects to report to the Government. Additionally, human resources are encouraged for the renewable energy sector. Vietnam is working to become an expert in the technology needed to construct offshore wind farms.

Also read: Petrovietnam fuels sustainable recovery

At the meeting, Mr. Robert Helms, Member of the Board of Directors of CIP Group - the world's largest green energy corporation with a scale of 25 billion USD, with many offshore wind power projects in the US, Taiwan, and Korea - said that there is a plan to invest more than 110 billion USD in the field of renewable energy by 2030.

CIP has a 200 million USD contract in Vietnam and plans to sign another 350 million USD contract. CIP is researching the development of La Gan offshore wind power with a total capacity of 3.5 GW in Binh Thuan province with a total expected investment of 10.5 billion USD. The processes needed to carry out the project are being finished.

According to Mr. Ian Hatton - Chairman of Enterprize Energy Group (EE), a British multi-industry corporation - the main activities of this enterprise is the exploitation of marine natural resources, energy development including oil and gas, Offshore wind power, onshore wind power, thermal power.

In Vietnam, EE has cooperated with Societe Generale (France), Vestas (Denmark), and ODE (UK) to develop the Thang Long Wind Complex in Binh Thuan province. The project includes two components: Thang Long Wind 2 (TLW2) will manufacture and export hydrogen energy from water electrolysis, with a total capacity of 2,000 MW and a total investment of 5 billion USD. Thang Long Wind (TLW) will connect to the national grid with a capacity of 3,400 MW.

EE plans to commercialize the Thang Long Win and Thang Long Win 2 projects in 2029, and "this will be the focus of the group's operations". Mr. Ian Hatton will continue discussing the electricity price mechanism with Vietnam Electricity Group.