Vietnam utilizes four main sources of renewable energy: hydroelectricity, wind power, solar power and biomass. At the end of 2018, hydropower was the largest source of renewable energy, contributing about 40% to the total national electricity capacity. In 2020, wind and solar had a combined share of 10% of the country's electrical generation, already meeting the government's 2030 goal, suggesting future displacement of growth of coal capacity. By the end of 2020, the total installed capacity of solar and wind power had reached over 17 GW. Over 25% of total power capacity is from variable renewable energy sources (wind, solar). The commercial biomass electricity generation is currently slow and limited to valorizing bagasse only, but the stream of forest products, agricultural and municipal waste is increasing. The government is studying a renewable portfolio standard that could promote this energy source.
While wind and solar investment remains attractive in Vietnam, existing capacity is under-utilized due to lack of electric transmission capacity and lack of a replacement for the expired feed-in tariff.
The lead-up to the expiration of the initial solar feed-in tariff (FIT) of US$93.5/MWh saw a large increase in Vietnam's installed capacity of solar photovoltaic (PV), from 86 MW in 2018 to about 4.5 GW by the end of June 2019. The number reached about 16.5 GW as of the end of 2020. This represents an annualized installation rate of about 90 W per capita per annum, placing Vietnam among world leaders. As of 2019, Vietnam has the highest installed capacity in Southeast Asia. In 2020, there are 102 solar power plants operating in the country with a total capacity of 6.3 GW. As of 2021, Vietnam has become one of the most successful ASEAN countries in attracting investment in renewable energy and promoting various types of renewables within the country.
Vietnam has the largest offshore wind power potential amount ASEAN countries, with over 470 GW technical potential within 200 km of the coast. This is equivalent to about 6 times the country's total installed capacity of any energy source as of 2022. This offers opportunities for meeting domestic demand as well as exporting to other countries such as Singapore.
Hydropower
Since 1975, Vietnam has developed several hydropower projects, including: Son La Hydropower (2400 MW), Lai Chau Hydropower (1200 MW) and Thuy Huoi Quang electricity (560 MW).
By the end of 2018, the country had 818 hydropower projects with a total installed capacity of 23,182 MW and 285 small hydropower plants with a total capacity of about 3,322 MW.
According to the Revised National Power Development Master Plan for the 2011-2020 Period with the Vision to 2030 (also called PDP 7A/ PDP 7 revised):
"Total capacity of hydropower sources (including small and medium hydroelectricity, pumped-storage hydropower) is about 21,600 MW by 2020, about 24,600 MW by 2025 (pumped-storage hydropower is 1,200 MW) and about 27,800 MW by 2030 (pumped-storage hydropower is 2,400 MW). Electricity production from hydropower sources accounts for about 29.5% in 2020, about 20.5% in 2025 and about 15.5% in 2030." "By 2020, the total capacity of power plants will be about 60,000 MW, of which large and medium hydroelectricity and pumped-storage hydropower will be about 30.1%. By 2025, the total capacity will be about 96,500 MW and 49.3% of which will belong to hydropower. By 2030, hydroelectricity will account for 16.9% of the 129,500 MW of total capacity."
Hydropower resources Vietnam has an exploitable hydropower capacity of about 25-38 GW. 60% of this capacity is concentrated in the north of the country, 27% in the center and 13% in the south.
Almost all large hydropower projects with a capacity of over 100 MW have been developed.
The country has over 1,000 identified locations for small hydropower plants, ranging from 100 kW to 30 MW, with a total capacity of over 7,000 MW.
These locations are concentrated mainly in the northern mountains, the South Central Coast and the Central Highlands.
Environmental impact In October 2018, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the provincial People's Committees cancelled 474 hydropower projects and 213 potential sites, recognizing that their impact on the environment and society failed to meet the expected benefits in terms of flood control, irrigation and power generation. The majority of these removed projects were located in the mountainous and midland provinces of the North, Central Highlands and Central Coastal provinces, and implemented by private enterprises.
The decision to cancel about half of the projects in the pipeline was motivated by a series of incident with small and medium hydropower, especially in the rainy season. It is a sign that the incentive mechanisms and policies for hydropower have been too efficient at attracting developers. They did not have the built-in barriers to filter out projects with unacceptable risks. The negative outcomes of hydropower development in Vietnam include:
Livelihood disruption and loss of forests. Building 25 large hydropower projects in the Central Highlands used over 68,000 hectares of land, affecting nearly 26,000 households. For example, the 7.5 MW Dak Ru hydropower plant, which started operating in April 2008 in the Central Highlands, destroyed hundreds of hectares of forest along Dak Ru stream, upsetting the landscape along more than 5 km. Dam failure. The Ia Kre 2 hydropower project (5.5MW capacity) in Gia Lai Province was withdrawn on August 8, 2018, after two dams failures in 2013 and 2014. Estimates of damage after two dam failures totalled about 7 billion VND. Also, the second dam failure caused damage to 26 huts and 60 hectares of crops of people who live there. Unexpected accidental water discharge. On August 8, 2018, flood discharge of Dong Nai 5 hydropower project happened and the trouble of the discharge valve at Dak Ka hydropower has flooded nearly 1,600 ha of agricultural land, washed away 99 fish rafts of 14 households raising fish on Dong Nai River. On May 23, 2019, Nam Non hydropower unexpectedly discharged water and did not pull the warning whistle as prescribed, this caused 1 person death. Perturbation in the downstream water availability and sediment transport. For example, in November 2018, the Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee approved the request to register the two projects on the Red River into its Small and Medium Hydropower Plan: Thai Nien (60 MW) and Bao Ha (40 MW). Downstream provinces along Red River, which include the capital city Hanoi, voiced concerns against the proposed projects. Changes in the flood regime. According to the inspection team of Nghe An province, the construction of many hydropower projects in the Ca river basin has greatly changed the river flow, the water recedes more slowly in the flood season, and the flooding period is longer. In December 2018, Nghe An Provincial People's Committee removed 16 hydropower projects from planning and reviewed 1 project. Hydropower reservoirs stimulate small intensity earthquakes. From January 2017 to the beginning of August 2018, there were 69 earthquakes with intensity of 2.5 - 3.9 on the Richter scale in the Quang Nam province. Among them, 63 earthquakes occurred in Nam Tra My and Bac Tra My districts, where the Song Tranh 2 hydropower plant was operating and 6 occurred in Phuoc Son district, near the Dak Mi 3 and Dak Mi 4 hydropower facilities. The series of earthquakes near the Song Tranh 2 hydropower plant caused many houses and construction works in Bac Tra My district to crack, causing local people worried about their safety. The press releases of the National Council for Construction Works confirmed that the Song Tranh 2 hydroelectric dam had passed strict quality testing but did not effectively diminish the anxiety of the people. Damages to houses and public buildings were estimated to 3.7 billion VND. Damages to the provincial road is estimated to about VND 20 billion.
Wind energy
By the end of May 31, 2019, 7 wind power plants were in operation, for a national installed capacity of 331 MW. By July 2022, installed capacity had risen to at least 4,000 MW due to the addition of 84 new wind farms.
The power development masterplan PDP 7 revised, published in 2016, stated that Vietnam would aim to have 800 MW of wind power capacity by 2020, 2,000 MW by 2025 and 6,000 MW by 2030. By mid 2019, the number of projects under construction was in line to reach the 2020 target, and the number of projects at the "approved" stage was twice what is needed to meet the 2025 target.
Wind power plants
The Bac Lieu wind farm is a 99 MW project that demonstrated the economic and technical feasibility of large-scale wind power in Vietnam. It is the first project in Asia located on intertidal mudflats. As a first of a kind project, it benefited from a feed-in tariff of 9.8 cents/kWh and preferential financial terms from the US-EXIM bank. While the construction was more complex than an onshore project, it is more accessible than an offshore project, and it captures the benefits of the excellent wind regime without impacting the land used for aquaculture or salt production, according to the project's CDM.
In April 2019, the Trung Nam renewable energy complex was inaugurated. Built in the Ninh Thuan province, it co-locates a wind farm (total investment capital of 4,000 billion VND) and a solar PV power farm (204 MW, total investment capital of 6,000 billion VND). Phase-1 of the wind power plant is operational with a capacity of 39.95 MW. By the fourth quarter of 2019, the second phase of the project will have an additional capacity of 64 MW. Phase 3 will be completed in 2020 with a capacity of 48 MW. The project was completed in time to benefit from an incentive of the feed-in tariff for renewable energy offered by the government. Many other projects were completed in that time window, in excess of the capacity of the transmission network, leading to severe curtailment problems starting in July 2019.
The Thang Long Wind power project proposes to develop large-scale offshore near the Kê Gà area, in the Binh Thuan province. The first phase of the project, for 600 MW, targets to start operating at the end of 2022. The vision is for a total system capacity of about 3,400 MW, at a total investment of nearly US$12 billion, not including investment for connection to the national electricity system.
In 2020 three projects were inaugurated: Dai Phong (40MW) in Binh Thuan, Huong Linh 1 (30MW) in Quang Tri and phase-2 of Trung Nam complex (64MW) in Ninh Thuan.
By July 21, 2021, there are 13 wind power plants with a total capacity of 611.33 MW that have been certified for commercial operation.
The 100 MW Dong Hai-1 intertidal wind farm in Tra Vinh started in January 2022.
Wind resources
Vietnam wind resources are mostly located along its coastline of more than 3,000 km, and in the hills and highlands of the northern and central regions. A World Bank ESMAP study (see the table below) estimated that over 39% of Vietnam's area had annual average wind speed over 6 m/s at a height of 65m, equivalent to a total capacity of 512 GW. It was estimated that over 8% of Vietnam's land area had annual average wind speed over 7 m/s, equivalent to a total capacity of 110 GW.
+ Vietnam's onshore wind potential at 65m heightAverage wind speedLower < 6 m/sMedium 6–7 m/sPretty high 7–8 m/sHigh 8–9 m/sVery high > 9 m/sArea (km2)197,242100,36725,6792,178111Area ratio (%)60.630.87.90.7>0Potential capacity (MW) -401,444102,7168,748482
A comparative study assessed that Vietnam has 8.6% of its land area with "good" to "very good" potential for large wind power stations, while Cambodia has 0.2%, Laos has 2.9%, and Thailand has only 0.2%. In 2021, two offshore wind farms (nearshore 78 and 48 MW) were under construction.
Offshore wind