Vietnam eyes doubling of power generation capacity by 2030
Vietnam wants to nearly double its total installed power generation capacity to 146,000 megawatts by 2030, and prioritise the development of renewable sources and reducing its coal dependency, its government said on Tuesday (Apr 26).
The latest draft of its power development plan, to be submitted to the prime minister next month, will restrict the development of coal-fired power plants and be open to other fuel sources, including hydrogen and ammonia, the government said in a statement.
The plan takes into account Vietnam’s commitment to turning carbon neutral by 2050, made at a United Nations climate conference in Glasgow (COP26) in November, the statement said.
Vietnam, a regional manufacturing powerhouse, is the largest power generator in Southeast Asia, with total installed generation capacity of 76,620 MW at the end of 2021, according to state-run utility EVN.
Wind and solar account for 27 per cent of the total capacity.
No further details of the latest power plan draft were provided on Tuesday and there was no mention of whether Vietnam would resume its nuclear power plans, which were shelved in 2016 following the Fukushima incident in Japan.
EVN last month warned of imminent electricity shortages due to tight coal supplies and called on citizens to save energy.
Reuters – April 26, 2022