The size and type of the wind turbine has a considerable impact on the length of time and complexity of the wind turbine installation.

Prior to the installation of any turbine or farm, it is crucial to commission a professional assessment of the site from a physics and geographic perspective, as well as to monitor local windspeeds over a period of time. Although a minimum of three months is advised, longer durations may be required to conduct a thorough examination owing to the changing atmospheric conditions with the passing of the seasons (winter, spring, summer, etc.).

Field survey

The installation of a wind farm requires a geographical overview to decide ground peculiarities that may influence the works. A plan of requirements for construction at the turbine location, a geotechnical investigation to determine the ground conditions, and an earthing study to determine the composition of the ground (needed to plan the electrical connections). The location of the key equipment, such as the turbines, wind turbine transformers, high-voltage substations, and the infrastructure to transfer the power where it is required, is then determined using this information.

Foundation preparation and installation

The construction of the foundations depends on the size and type of the turbine system, and is made more difficult by the fact that turbines are now being built higher and larger in order to find stronger and more steady winds.

Additionally, it is typically important to wait at least two weeks following the construction of the foundations to allow the concrete base to fully set in the soil.

Engineers must consider all the physics involved in the proper operation and support of the turbine as well as the vibrations of the turbine itself while building these foundations.

Installing tower sections

The first component to be installed is the tower. Since the towers are so tall, they must be installed in sections rather than all at once.

We typically use common, high-capacity cranes for tower construction because they allow us to mount the tower’s various components correctly.

Depending on the size of the turbine, this task could take one or more days (and so on the complexity of the process).

Installing the nacelle

The mounting of the nacelle is the following stage in the installation of a wind turbine. There are various nacelle types, and typically the features and dimensions correspond to the size of the wind turbine. The nacelle can rotate 360 degrees in order to position itself facing the wind.

Installing the blades

The installation of the blades is the final stage in the construction of any wind turbine. Every wind turbine has the ability to move its blades, which are directly attached to the nacelle and rotor and can be used to start or stop the rotation and energy production. The system aligns the blades parallel to the wind direction to stop operating (due to too much or too little wind). The blades are placed perpendicular to the wind to begin operation.

In small wind turbines, the rotor is raised along with the blades. This cannot be done in larger modern wind turbines.

Wind Power Contractor in Vietnam

• Wind Power EPC & BOP Contractor in Vietnam

Khang Duc plans, coordinates and supervises the construction phases, including:

• Site Appraisal and Procurement.
• Planning, Permits and Financing.
• Access Roads and Installation of the Foundation.
• Cable installation.
• Wind Turbine Construction.

Contact Us:

Tender Dept: (+84) 963 70 05 05

Accounting Dept: (+84) 28 2212 2720 

HR Dept: (+84) 28 6656 5454

Email: info@khangducconst.com

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• Tra Vinh Wind Farm V1.1
• Huong Tan – Tan Linh Wind Farm

Virtually all wind turbines, which produce more than 5 percent of the world’s electricity, are controlled as if they were individual, free-standing units. In fact, the vast majority are part of larger wind farm installations involving dozens or even hundreds of turbines, whose wakes can affect each other.

Now, engineers at MIT and elsewhere have found that, with no need for any new investment in equipment, the energy output of such wind farm installations can be increased by modeling the wind flow of the entire collection of turbines and optimizing the control of individual units accordingly.

The increase in energy output from a given installation may seem modest — it’s about 1.2 percent overall, and 3 percent for optimal wind speeds. But the algorithm can be deployed at any wind farm, and the number of wind farms is rapidly growing to meet accelerated climate goals. If that 1.2 percent energy increase were applied to all the world’s existing wind farms, it would be the equivalent of adding more than 3,600 new wind turbines, or enough to power about 3 million homes, and a total gain to power producers of almost a billion dollars per year, the researchers say. And all of this for essentially no cost.

The research is published today in the journal Nature Energy, in a study led by MIT Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Michael F. Howland.

“Essentially all existing utility-scale turbines are controlled ‘greedily’ and independently,” says Howland. The term “greedily,” he explains, refers to the fact that they are controlled to maximize only their own power production, as if they were isolated units with no detrimental impact on neighboring turbines.

But in the real world, turbines are deliberately spaced close together in wind farms to achieve economic benefits related to land use (on- or offshore) and to infrastructure such as access roads and transmission lines. This proximity means that turbines are often strongly affected by the turbulent wakes produced by others that are upwind from them — a factor that individual turbine-control systems do not currently take into account.

“From a flow-physics standpoint, putting wind turbines close together in wind farms is often the worst thing you could do,” Howland says. “The ideal approach to maximize total energy production would be to put them as far apart as possible,” but that would increase the associated costs.

That’s where the work of Howland and his collaborators comes in. They developed a new flow model which predicts the power production of each turbine in the farm depending on the incident winds in the atmosphere and the control strategy of each turbine. While based on flow-physics, the model learns from operational wind farm data to reduce predictive error and uncertainty. Without changing anything about the physical turbine locations and hardware systems of existing wind farms, they have used the physics-based, data-assisted modeling of the flow within the wind farm and the resulting power production of each turbine, given different wind conditions, to find the optimal orientation for each turbine at a given moment. This allows them to maximize the output from the whole farm, not just the individual turbines.

Today, each turbine constantly senses the incoming wind direction and speed and uses its internal control software to adjust its yaw (vertical axis) angle position to align as closely as possible to the wind. But in the new system, for example, the team has found that by turning one turbine just slightly away from its own maximum output position — perhaps 20 degrees away from its individual peak output angle — the resulting increase in power output from one or more downwind units will more than make up for the slight reduction in output from the first unit. By using a centralized control system that takes all of these interactions into account, the collection of turbines was operated at power output levels that were as much as 32 percent higher under some conditions.

In a months-long experiment in a real utility-scale wind farm in India, the predictive model was first validated by testing a wide range of yaw orientation strategies, most of which were intentionally suboptimal. By testing many control strategies, including suboptimal ones, in both the real farm and the model, the researchers could identify the true optimal strategy. Importantly, the model was able to predict the farm power production and the optimal control strategy for most wind conditions tested, giving confidence that the predictions of the model would track the true optimal operational strategy for the farm. This enables the use of the model to design the optimal control strategies for new wind conditions and new wind farms without needing to perform fresh calculations from scratch.

Then, a second months-long experiment at the same farm, which implemented only the optimal control predictions from the model, proved that the algorithm’s real-world effects could match the overall energy improvements seen in simulations. Averaged over the entire test period, the system achieved a 1.2 percent increase in energy output at all wind speeds, and a 3 percent increase at speeds between 6 and 8 meters per second (about 13 to 18 miles per hour).

While the test was run at one wind farm, the researchers say the model and cooperative control strategy can be implemented at any existing or future wind farm. Howland estimates that, translated to the world’s existing fleet of wind turbines, a 1.2 percent overall energy improvement would produce  more than 31 terawatt-hours of additional electricity per year, approximately equivalent to installing an extra 3,600 wind turbines at no cost. This would translate into some $950 million in extra revenue for the wind farm operators per year, he says.

The amount of energy to be gained will vary widely from one wind farm to another, depending on an array of factors including the spacing of the units, the geometry of their arrangement, and the variations in wind patterns at that location over the course of a year. But in all cases, the model developed by this team can provide a clear prediction of exactly what the potential gains are for a given site, Howland says. “The optimal control strategy and the potential gain in energy will be different at every wind farm, which motivated us to develop a predictive wind farm model which can be used widely, for optimization across the wind energy fleet,” he adds.

But the new system can potentially be adopted quickly and easily, he says. “We don’t require any additional hardware installation. We’re really just making a software change, and there’s a significant potential energy increase associated with it.” Even a 1 percent improvement, he points out, means that in a typical wind farm of about 100 units, operators could get the same output with one fewer turbine, thus saving the costs, usually millions of dollars, associated with purchasing, building, and installing that unit.

Further, he notes, by reducing wake losses the algorithm could make it possible to place turbines more closely together within future wind farms, therefore increasing the power density of wind energy, saving on land (or sea) footprints. This power density increase and footprint reduction could help to achieve pressing greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, which call for a substantial expansion of wind energy deployment, both on and offshore.

What’s more, he says, the biggest new area of wind farm development is offshore, and “the impact of wake losses is often much higher in offshore wind farms.” That means the impact of this new approach to controlling those wind farms could be significantly greater.

The Howland Lab and the international team is continuing to refine the models further and working to improve the operational instructions they derive from the model, moving toward autonomous, cooperative control and striving for the greatest possible power output from a given set of conditions, Howland says.

“This paper describes a significant step forward for wind power,” says Charles Meneveau, a professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, who was not involved in this work. “It includes new ideas and methodologies to effectively control wind turbines collectively under the highly variable wind energy resource. It shows that smartly implemented yaw control strategies using state-of-the-art physics-based wake models, supplemented with data-driven approaches, can increase power output in wind farms.” The fact that this was demonstrated in an operating wind farm, he says, “is of particular importance to facilitate subsequent implementation and scale-up of the proposed approach.”

The research team includes Jesús Bas Quesada, Juan José Pena Martinez, and Felipe Palou Larrañaga of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Innovation and Technology in Navarra, Spain; Neeraj Yadav and Jasvipul Chawla at ReNew Power Private Limited in Haryana, India; Varun Sivaram formerly at ReNew Power Private Limited in Haryana, India and presently at the Office of the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, United States Department of State; and John Dabiri at California Institute of Technology. The work was supported by the MIT Energy Initiative and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.

Source: News.mit.edu

List of wind farm in Vietnam

Vietnam has 124 offshore wind farm projects, 22 currently operating, 3 where construction has progressed enough to connect the turbines and generate electricity, 8 are in the build phase, and 9 are either consented or have applied for consent.

Source: 4offshore

DISCLAIMER: The data provided in this document is for reference only. Most of them are from public sources. We can not guarantee that they are 100% accurate and updated. We assume no responsibility for anyone’s use of the information. It should not be cited as reliable source of information.

Invest wind farm, wind power in Vietnam

Vietnam has lately made further strides toward expanding its capacity for renewable energy. The industry will probably continue to involve bigger, more expensive, and more technically challenging projects in solar, onshore wind, and offshore wind thanks to a favorable investment climate and different government incentives and regulations.

More information: How Can Investors Seize Vietnam’s Wind Power Potential

• Vietnam’s Policy On Offshore Wind Projects 

Wind farm construction in Vietnam

Khang Duc team consists of many professionals with expertise covering all phases of wind farm development EPC & BOP. We ensure that deadlines, quality standards and cost calculations are met.

• EPC & BOP wind farm contractor in Vietnam

Khang Duc plans, coordinates and supervises the construction phases, including:

• Site Appraisal and Procurement.
• Planning, Permits and Financing.
• Access Roads and Installation of the Foundation.
• Cable installation.
• Wind Turbine Construction.

Contact Us:

Add: SAV8-06.05, The Sun Avenue Building, 28 Mai Chi Tho St., An Phu Ward, Thu Duc city, Ho Chi Minh city.

Tel:

Tender Dept: (+84) 28 6281 7417

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Email: info@khangducconst.com

Our Wind farm projects:

• Tra Vinh Wind Farm V1-1
• Tra Vinh V1.3 Wind Farm
• Vien An Wind Farm
• Ca Mau 1 wind farm
• Khai Long Wind Farm
• Hoa Binh 1 Wind Farm
• Hoa Binh 2 wind farm
• Tan Phu Dong 1 Wind Farm
• Dong Thanh 1 Wind Farm
• Huong Tan – Tan Linh Wind Farm

By 2030 offshore wind power capacity would be 7,000 megawatts (MW), envisages the Power Development Master Plan VIII for 2021-30.

But Nguyen Thi Thanh Binh, deputy director of conglomerate T&T Group, said at a conference last week that ambiguous regulations are the biggest hurdle to achieving the government’s goal.

“A policy framework, construction roadmap or pricing mechanism for offshore wind power plants has yet to be drawn up, and there is also a lack of specific, clear instructions.”

• Huong Tan – Tan Linh Wind Farm

Offshore wind farms usually take six to nine months before commercially operating, and so it is a huge risk for investors if the mechanism is unclear, she added.

Bui Van Thinh, chairman of the Binh Thuan Wind and Solar Energy Association, spoke about another problem: Vietnam’s power grid.

“The country’s grid for renewable sources is already overloaded, and so it cannot benefit from more supply.”

Upgrading the power system to cope with the targeted load requires a huge investment, and national utility EVN has no incentive to do it as it buys renewable energy at a loss.

Meanwhile, the newly amended Law on Electricity allows private investors to fund power grids, but lacks specific instructions for implementation.

Pricing issues

Last October the Ministry of Industry and Trade stopped the feed-in-tariff (FIT) incentive price for wind power projects.

It is now seeking feedback on bidding mechanisms for renewable energy prices.

But Binh warned against doing that now, saying both investors and the market would be hurt.

“Offshore wind power is a relatively new sector in Vietnam, and some investors are considering them test runs.

“Bidding in this case will disrupt the market, and investors may decide to forfeit them after winning bids.”

Mark Hutchinson of the Global Wind Energy Council pointed to the fact that no country has been able to install 3,000 MW of offshore wind power through bidding in early stages.

Citing the experiences of the UK, the Netherlands and Taiwan, he said investors need to have a buffer time before bidding starts.

FIT prices could be offered for the first 4,000 MW, and the next 3,000 MW could be priced through bidding, he said.

He also suggested qualification-based selection to fast-track planning and construction.

Doan Ngoc Duong, vice chairman of the Institute of Energy (IEVN) agreed, saying many countries have adopted similar policies to incentivize investors in early phases.

“We need a pioneering project as a pilot for choosing investors and mechanisms.”

Too many investors

Nguyen Thanh Huyen of the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands said the number of companies seeking to invest in offshore wind farms has skyrocketed.

“Over the last year and a half 35 firms have asked to explore 41 locations to build wind farms, up from the previous three.”

Nguyen Manh Cuong of the IEVN said 22 projects have registered in the north and 74 in the south with a total designed capacity of over 156,000 MW.

This is much higher than the government’s target of 7,000 MW.

In the northern province of Nam Dinh, for instance, only one project is registered, but with a capacity of 12,000 MW.

Source: VnExpress

Leading UK and international businesses had the opportunity to exchange expertise with Vietnamese counterparts, explore strategic cooperation opportunities contributing to Viet Nam’s 2050 net-zero emissions target. 

The UK looks forward to continuing to work closely with Viet Nam to promote renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through offshore wind and solar energy projects with the Vietnamese government and businesses.

Khang Duc was delight to be a host at the EIC Meet The Energy Players in Vietnam 2022 event which organized by Energy Industries Council & British Consulate and Department of International Trade UK last 10-11 Aug, 2022.

EIC Meet The Energy Players in Vietnam 2022 is a physical networking event and it is dedicated to bring together UK companies and international energy businesses to meet with Vietnamese key operators, developers, EPCs and OEMs to learn about opportunities in the Vietnam energy industry.

• EPC & BOP Wind farm contractor in Viet Nam

With about 200 attendees from over 50 energy businesses, the conference was a platform to bring higher awareness to the global energy community on the latest initiatives undertaken by Vietnam energy players in the space of climate change and energy transition.

• KHANG DUC IS NOMINATED ON TOP 3 FOR “EPC COMPANY OF THE YEAR”, ORGANIZED BY COMMITTEE OF WIND FUTURE AWARDS 2021

• Among the ASEAN nations, Vietnam has emerged as a pioneer in the use of wind power and renewable energy.
• Due to its geographical characteristics and natural resources, Vietnam has a considerable potential for renewable energy, notably wind capacity.
• Vietnam Briefing investigates why wind energy has the potential to replace solar energy as the main renewable energy source in the wake of Vietnam’s net-zero commitment at COP26.

Vietnam is anticipated to lead Southeast Asia’s green transition due to its abundant wind resources and growing need for electricity, solidifying its position as a major player in the adoption of solar and wind power.

Vietnam has recently been making the most of the potential of a diverse energy mix by utilizing renewable energy sources such hydroelectricity, biomass, solar, and wind energy.

With a goal of 11,800 MW of wind power capacity by 2025, Vietnam has the most aggressive wind power development strategy in ASEAN. This is almost equivalent to Thailand’s projected capacity of 3000 MW by 2036 and the Philippines’ projected capacity of 2378 MW by 2030, respectively.

The government unveiled a draft of the eighth national power development plan (PDP 8) for 2021, with a focus on 2045, in the beginning of 2021. This plan highlights the nation’s goals for renewable energy to take over as the main source, with a maximum of 18.6 GW of solar and 18.0 GW of wind energy by 2030, with no new coal plants anticipated in the upcoming years.

Wind power capacity

With a 3,000 km long coastline and winds that range from 5.5 to 7.3 meters per second, Vietnam has a great natural potential for wind capacity. Vietnam will have the second-highest installed wind power capacity in ASEAN after Thailand at 600 MW by the end of 2020.

In comparison to onshore wind, the nation’s offshore wind potential is far greater. Vietnam’s offshore wind power capacity might rise to 5–19 GW from 1 GW and its onshore wind power capacity to 17.34 GW from 1.26 GW by 2030, according to the World Bank’s Offshore Wind Roadmap for Vietnam. The gross value added (GVA) that this will provide for the nation is probably in the range of $60 billion.

In 15 provinces along Vietnam’s coastline, wind development has seen the biggest expansion from a provincial viewpoint. Wind energy installations are primarily located in the coastal provinces of Vietnam in the Mekong Delta, one of four KERs.

A maritime exclusive economic zone of up to 360,000 km2 surrounds the area’s shoreline and islands, which have a combined length of around 700 km. For instance, the 72 km long coastline and consistent high winds in the province of Soc Trang make it a prime location for the development of wind energy. Twenty wind energy projects have so far received official approval and will be built in Soc Trang in 2022 and 2023.

Most recently, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Orsted, one of the biggest offshore wind farm firms, to build a number of offshore wind projects in the provinces of Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan.

Vietnam’s largest wind power project, Ninh Thuan, which spans 900 hectares and has a total installed capacity of 151.95 MW and a total capital expenditure of US$173.4 million (VND 4 trillion), started operating in 2021. This strengthens the province’s position as a leader with 32 solar power projects totaling 2,257 MW and three wind power projects totaling 329 MW.

Favorable feed-in-tariff (FiT)

Vietnam’s industry growth is primarily credited to the government’s steadfast backing and adoption of hefty feed-in-tariffs (FiTs). According to a 20-year power purchase agreement, the government has offered a FiT of US cents 8.5 per kilowatt-hour (KWh) (VND 1.927) for onshore wind projects and US cents 9.8/KWh (VND 2.223) for nearshore ones since 2018. (PPA). All projects beginning before November 2021 were subject to this.

The majority of onshore wind projects, however, struggled to finish before the deadline in November 2021 as a result of COVID-19. Therefore, in order to reduce financial risk for wind projects that are launched before the new deadline, the government has suggested extending the FiT deadlines from 2021 to the end of 2023.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has suggested an auction system starting in 2023 that would be similar to that used for solar power projects when the FiT tariffs expire. It provides two choices: a developer auction to sell power to a nearby distributor or an investor auction to begin developments on the purchased property.

The future, however, is still unknown because the government has not yet confirmed whether tariffs or an auction-based system would be imposed after 2023.

Opportunities in wind power

Energy demand is expected to rise by about 8% year between 2021 and 2030 as a result of increasing industrialisation and economic modernisation.

In recent years, Vietnam’s renewable energy projects attracted a sizable amount of FDI and private sector investment, supporting their economic sustainability. It is anticipated that the projects in the upcoming investment wave would be much larger, particularly offshore wind projects. Compared to solar or onshore wind projects, these often offer more generation capacity.

Furthermore, compared to other renewable energy sources, offshore wind projects provide the chance to increase capacity at a lower cost and greater level of complexity.

Furthermore, the government does not impose limits on foreign ownership of renewable energy projects, and wind developers are eligible for tax benefits for the first four years of operation. A tax cut of 50% will also be imposed over the next 10 years of operation.

Inadequate regulations, complex technology, costs add to challenges

However, Vietnamese wind power investors have received little support from the government. According to state-owned Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN), from October 2021, only five more wind power plants with a total capacity of 170MW were recognized for commercial operation by the commercial operation date (COD).

Further, Vietnam does not have adequate regulations to develop large offshore infrastructure projects such as offshore wind farms. This derives from a restricted legal framework on the use of offshore sea areas under the 2012 Law on Sea of Vietnam and Decree 11/2021/ND-CP which is inadequate.

These laws require investors to pay US$125/ha/year to US$300 which would result in significant costs in developing a wind farm. Offshore oil and gas development on the contrary are exempt from such payments.

Wind projects, compared to other renewable projects, are more complex and financially demanding. The operation and maintenance (O&M) agreements for an offshore wind farm is a complex process that requires different levels of skills and long-term commitments from the wind farm operator.

O&M costs of offshore wind farms are significantly higher than onshore. These cover a range of relevant services to ensure asset integrity of components such as offshore wind turbines, foundations, and the offshore and onshore transmission system. Thus adequate expertise and know-how along with a necessary supporting industry is pertinent to developing not just offshore wind farms but renewable energy in general.

Moving forward

Nevertheless, Vietnam has lately made further strides toward expanding its capacity for renewable energy. The industry will probably continue to involve bigger, more expensive, and more technically challenging projects in solar, onshore wind, and offshore wind thanks to a favorable investment climate and different government incentives and regulations.

The government must create a pricing strategy so that investors are informed of impending price increases. Additionally, Vietnam may be able to raise foreign investment, which would aid the nation in achieving its targets for renewable energy, if it can create bankable power purchase agreements (PPAs).

As wind projects require large scale, are emissions-free, and have significant potential to attract FDI, they have the potential to fit into regional power plans. In preparation for its net-zero commitment by 2050, Vietnam should also consider more innovative technical solutions to complement wind storage at low investment cost and with great flexibility at multiple timescales.

Source: Vietnam-briefing.com

But serious interest in the development of offshore wind power has only recently begun. The industry holds great promise. This Article sets out Vietnam’s current policy and its plan to develop offshore wind power.

Overview

We start with Decision 39¹ that provides the encouragement to develop offshore wind projects. It provides general policies to develop offshore wind projects (including favorable conditions and incentives).  Now, both local and foreign investors are able to develop offshore wind projects. About 36 GW have been registered for development, but no development plan has been approved.  The targets are mainly situated in Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Ba Ria–Vung Tau, Ben Tre, and Bac Lieu provinces where wind speed is constant.  The Ministry of Trade and Industry (“MOIT”) expects that the industry will generate 8 GW per year from offshore wind in 2030, and that the output could reach 54 GW in 2045. This plan is ambitious, but it seems to be feasible given that (i) large increases in the demand for power result in a rapid expansion of capacity; (ii) Vietnam’s traditional power generation is limited; (iii) renewable energy (including offshore wind power) is an important segment of power generation in the approved national energy plan under Resolution 55²;  (iv) cost of wind power has dropped substantially over the last ten years and will continue to drop; and (v) technologies for wind turbines and foundations have been rapidly enhanced by developed countries and by emerging markets. This helps developers to resolve technical issues and reduce investment costs.

Offshore Wind Vs Onshore Wind

Conditions, electricity price, restrictions and regulatory procedures that apply to an offshore wind project are different from those that apply onshore.  The concept of an “offshore wind power project”, as defined in Decision 39, means any grid-connected wind power project with wind turbines constructed and operated offshore – outside the lowest mean high water as [measured over] 18.6 years; and the concept of an “onshore wind power project” means any grid-connected wind power project with wind turbines constructed and operated in mainland and coastal areas of which the outer boundary is the lowest mean high water as [measured over] 18.6 years. In practice, it is hard to know whether a wind project is an onshore or offshore project due to lack of sufficient information and data to measure high and low water mean. The matter can be consulted with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The table below compares key characteristics and indicators of each source of power:  

Investment Incentives

Offshore wind projects are especially encouraged by the Government.  They are entitled to exemption/reduction of rental of sea surface. They can also qualify for favorable state loans and tax incentives.  Below are tax incentives applicable to offshore wind projects:

Conclusion

Vietnam’s plan to develop offshore wind projects is an effort to support and promote the global program to reduce CO2 emission. The plan is also aimed at achieving the country’s power mix plan. Development of offshore wind projects is in its early stages. The industry can develop commercially in the next ten years as cost reductions are achieved. The investment in offshore wind projects will become more attractive and feasible in 2045 once coal-fired plants must be closed and further reduction of investment costs can be achieved. There are many factors for the industry to become an important part of Vietnam’s future power mix. Achievement of this target requires the Government support/attention. To begin with, the Government should apply the favorable tariff to offshore wind projects until the young industry is ready to compete with other sources of power generation. Of course, the Government’s guarantees and subsidies are welcome by the private sector. In return, Vietnam will have a sustainable source of clean and green power, and Vietnam can reaffirm its national interest in the ocean areas where offshore wind projects      are constructed.

Footnotes

1 Decision no. 39/2018/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister dated September 10, 2018 (“Decision 39”)

2 Resolution 55 of the Politburo dated February 11, 2020 (“Resolution 55”)

3 This policy is set out in Decree 31/2021/ND-CP of the Government dated March 26, 2021 (“Decree 31”).

4 Law no. 45/2013/QH13 adopted by the National Assembly on November 29, 2013 (“Land Law”).

5 Decree 43/2014/ND-CP of the Government dated May 15, 2014 (“Decree 43”).

6 International Electrotechnical Commission.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Source: Mondaq

In recent years, liquefied natural gas (LNG) has sparked considerable interest in Vietnam as a potential new source of energy, given the rapid growth of the country’s demand for electricity. According to the World Bank, the scale of Vietnam’s electricity consumption ranks second in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after Indonesia and 23rd in the world. Given its fast growing economy, Vietnam’s electricity generating capacity has been under pressure to keep up with demand. Electricity demand is projected to grow 8 percent annually through 2030. This would require generation capacity to increase from 60 GW in 2020 to 130 GW by 2030.

Supporters of LNG argue that a growing reliance on the energy source could reduce the costs and emissions associated with coal-fired power plants and would increase the flexibility of supply. Indeed, over the past two years, local media have frequently reported the announcements of new LNG-to-power projects with multibillion-dollar price tags, many of which include established international firms such as Exxon and AES Corporation.

At the COP26 climate change summit held in Glasgow last month, Vietnam pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and to phase out coal power between 2030 and 2040. However, as Vietnam transitions into an LNG importer, there are difficult questions to be asked about the future growth potential of the LNG sector.

“Reality dictates that LNG to power projects are all but essential in Vietnam’s short and mid-term future and there is no shortage of potential investors and, for now at least, potential financiers interested,” said Giles Cooper, a partner at the law firm Allens Pte Ltd in Hanoi, who analyses energy policy.

“The biggest question for me about these projects is how quickly and efficiently the government will be willing and able to address project viability issues to enable them to proceed in accordance with planned schedules,” he added.

One of the challenges is that LNG power generation facilities are large and complicated and require intermodal transport infrastructure such as special facilities within harbors, LNG transfer and onshore storage systems, and then regasification systems and ensuring pipeline transport. For now, an LNG-to-power project will be reliant on its own terminal and will lack backup or alternative fuel supply sources as Vietnam does not have sufficient infrastructure for LNG storage and regasification and gas pipelines.

“Safety and security of such facilities needs to be ensured, such that it is to be expected that there are lengthy permitting and approval issues related to such facilities,” Andrew Jeffries, the country director for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Vietnam, told The Diplomat.

He also pointed out there are key regulatory issues that need to be addressed.

One example is a means of ensuring a sufficient linkage between natural gas prices and electricity prices, given that in Vietnam, an open gas market and electricity market are in the nascent stages without some of the hedging and risk mitigation tools that are available in more developed markets.

LNG is a globally traded commodity with prices subject to global factors, and an LNG facility will regasify the LNG into natural gas to be sold domestically.

“Much of the demand in Vietnam for natural gas comes from gas-fired power generators that purchase that gas to convert into electricity, and as in all countries, electricity prices are carefully regulated,” said Jeffries.

As a result, Vietnam will need a regulatory mechanism to ensure that electricity prices reflect the cost of LNG enough to provide revenue for power generators. “The LNG facilities themselves will require predictable revenue streams to attract the investment and finance required to build them,” Jeffries added.

Matt Lorimer, a partner at the law firm Watson Farley & Williams in Hanoi, agreed that for LNG to power projects in Vietnam, there is a long journey from project approval to construction.

“The main issue is that there is no precedent for LNG-to-power projects in Vietnam and the sponsors and the governments are attempting to negotiate a fair risk allocation structure that is bankable and attractive to international investors, but which also ensures that Vietnam is paying a fair price for its electricity,” he said.

Lorimer, who frequently advises investors on LNG projects in Vietnam, indicated the government will not rush into signing power purchase agreements with a 20- to 25-year term.

“Whilst it may be frustrating for sponsors who want to proceed with their projects, the government’s cautious approach is perfectly understandable given the cost and complexity of LNG-to-power projects,” he explained.

Is Natural Gas the New Coal?

The last decade has seen the rise of LNG, which has been touted as a cleaner alternative to coal, and as a result there are substantial plans expand its use globally. However, some environmental groups argued that to reach the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degree C warming limit, governments and finance institutions must treat gas the same way they do coal: target it for a swift phase-out.

A study released in November by Climate Analytics stated that LNG is “a very carbon intensive fuel source and taking into account emissions in production, manufacture distribution and gasification, including methane leakages, may have a greater GHG footprint than coal-fired generation when used for power production.”

In its latest Revised Draft Master Plan VIII, on diversifying the country’s primary energy sources, Vietnam’s government made clear that the development of renewable energy sources, including wind and solar power, has been prioritized. However, Vietnam faces a number of challenges that will hinder the switch to renewable energy.

The reality is that renewables alone will not be able to meet demand. The government also needs to take into consideration the cost and technical challenges of building large scale offshore wind projects in Vietnam. Lorimer of Watson Farley & Williams said LNG will help Vietnam balance the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions with continued rapid economic growth.

“In the future there is the possibility that developments such as smart grid technologies, improved storage systems and small scale LNG power plants with short lead in may reduce the requirement for large traditional power plants,” he said. “However, my view is that currently Vietnam still requires power plants capable of delivering a base load and LNG looks set to play a role as a transition fuel.”

The ADB’s newly approved Energy Policy said the bank will not support coal mining, processing, storage, and transportation, nor any new coal-fired power generation. The bank also said it will not support any natural gas exploration or drilling activities, and will be selective in its support for midstream and downstream natural gas projects.

Jeffries said that the ADB’s Energy Policy recognizes that natural gas has a role to play as a transitional fuel  that can support power system flexibility under specific circumstances, based on the current, widely accepted body of knowledge. But he said that such projects “will have to go through a strict screening criteria under which ADB financing will be provided.”

He added, “ADB’s support for natural gas-based power generation will be conditional on evidence that the project employs high-efficiency and internationally best available technologies, reduces emissions by directly displacing other fossil fuel-based thermal power capacity, or results in a lower grid emission factor estimated as an average over its operational life.”

Looking forward, Jeffries said that the Bank will review its policy in 2025, considering rapid advances in clean energy technologies and research on low carbon development, among other things. “This review will take into account the situation prevailing at the time, including findings of any new research, if widely established,” Jeffries said.

A report in June from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) also raised questions about whether U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration will provide the tangible government financial support that these projects will require.

“The new administration has not yet confirmed whether it will continue to back new international fossil fuel-related projects and has left the door open to rejecting at least some projects that have not yet received approval for federal financing,” the report stated.

A Key Component in the Transition

It should be noted that Vietnam only aims to begin importing LNG in 2022. Vietnam’s first LNG import terminal, by private company Hai Linh, although construction was completed last year, still has to undergo testing and commissioning. Meanwhile, the state-owned PetroVietnam Gas expects to put the Thi Vai terminal into operation by the second half of 2022.

In the first major development after COP26, a conference was held in Vietnam on November 19 to discuss possible changes to the country’s draft power development plan. The latest version of the plan reportedly stated that power generation capacity from newly imported LNG will be slashed to 22.4 GW by 2030 from 40.95 GW in the draft published in March. The planned power generation capacity from newly imported LNG by 2045 will also fall to 55.75 GW, from 83.55 GW in the March draft.

Damon Evans, an Asia-focused energy analyst that writes about LNG market trends in Asia-Pacific, expects that at least some LNG projects will get off the ground. “Vietnam has various LNG-to-power projects proposed and I think some of them will be successful,” he said. “Vietnam still needs base load power for when the sun does not shine, or the wind does not blow. This needs to be coal or natural gas, until energy storage technologies are developed for renewable energy.”

Evans said that Vietnam should also focus on developing its offshore natural gas fields before pivoting to importing LNG, which he said could weaken the country’s energy security. Despite various challenges, LNG will be a key component as Vietnam transitions to its net zero goal.

“More renewable energy projects, more domestic gas and LNG imports will be needed. I would expect no more new coal fired-power projects, which are becoming increasingly hard to finance for Vietnam,” Evans said.

Source: thediplomat.com

Under the MoU, the two energy companies will explore collaboration opportunities to contribute to Korea’s energy transition. 

This could include renewable energy off-take, joint operation and maintenance, and potential business opportunities in renewable-based hydrogen energy powered by MunmuBaram, Shell’s joint-venture floating offshore wind project in Ulsan.

”Shell views offshore wind energy as a key part of a net-zero energy system,” said YoungKyu Ju, MunmuBaram Project Director and Shell Korea Country Chair. 

”We are excited to collaborate with KOSPO to advance Korea’s renewable energy market and propel the country closer towards its carbon neutral target.”

MunmuBaram project, which is subject to future investment decisions, would be a significant development towards South Korea’s ‘Renewable Energy 3020 Plan’, which aims to increase domestic renewable energy generation to 20 per cent of the energy mix by the year 2030 and will assist in meeting South Korea’s ambition to become carbon neutral by 2050, Shell said.

Seung-Woo Lee, President and chief executive officer (CEO) of KOSPO said: ”This MoU signed with Shell, a global energy leader, will help KOSPO expand our businesses. This will not only help the Korean government achieve the goal of transforming major energy sources but will also put Korea’s world-class shipbuilding and marine engineering business at the core of the floating wind industry.”

The MunmuBaram floating wind firm farm is a joint venture project between Shell (80 per cent) and CoensHexicon.

The joint venture partners have recently secured Electricity Business Licenses covering the project’s entire 1.3 GW capacity.

The developers said that they will now continue to progress the development of the project through an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), a marine traffic survey, a cultural heritage inspection survey, and other activities.

Located offshore South-East Korea, between 65 and 80 kilometres from the city of Ulsan, MunmuBaram will be developed in phases and, once fully constructed, is expected to generate up to 4.2 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity every year.

• KHANG DUC IS NOMINATED ON TOP 3 FOR “EPC COMPANY OF THE YEAR”, ORGANIZED BY COMMITTEE OF WIND FUTURE AWARDS 2021
• EPC & BOP Wind farm contractor in Viet Nam

Source: offshoreWIND.biz

The side-compartments were then transported to Vestas’ factory in Esbjerg, where the full power converter system will be installed.

Image Source: Vestas

According to Vestas, the modular nacelle components take full advantage of industrial standards, as the side-compartments are dimensionally designed to correspond to general industry standards rather than challenging them. 

The modularised nacelle is divided into a main nacelle house, and one or more side-compartments depending on configuration, that are dimensionally designed to correspond to logistics standards such as shipping containers, for road, rail, and ocean transportation. 

This means that the modularised nacelle units can be transported while adhering to tunnels, bridge heights, rail systems, etc. with less need for specialised handling.

Side-compartments can, in general, house many different types of relevant technologies or applications, Vestas said.

Utilising a simple click-on system, the modular concept is said to facilitate smart servicing solutions and opens up upgrade and innovation possibilities over the lifetime of the operating asset.

Vestas plans to expand the modularisation approach to encompass the whole turbine.

The Danish turbine manufacturer has already applied the modularised nacelle concept to its latest onshore turbine – the EnVentus V162-6.8 MW™.

The company plans to install the V236-15 MW prototype offshore wind turbine at the Østerild National test centre for large wind turbines in Western Jutland, Denmark later this year.

The wind turbine will feature 115.5-metre blades, the world’s longest.

Stretching 280 metres into the air with a production output of 80 GWh/year, the prototype will be the tallest and most powerful wind turbine in the world once installed, Vestas said.

The globally applicable offshore turbine is said to offer 65 per cent higher annual energy production than the V174-9.5 MW, and for a 900 MW wind farm it increases production by five percent with 34 fewer turbines. It is said to offer excellent partial-load production, resulting in a more stable energy production, and a capacity factor over 60 per cent depending on site-specific conditions.

Launched in February 2021, Vestas secured its first pre-selected tenderer status for the V236-15.0 MW turbine in July 2021 for the 900 MW He Dreiht project in Germany.

The model has since been chosen by Equinor and bp for their 2.1 GW Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2 wind farms offshore New York.

• KHANG DUC IS NOMINATED ON TOP 3 FOR “EPC COMPANY OF THE YEAR”, ORGANIZED BY COMMITTEE OF WIND FUTURE AWARDS 2021
• EPC & BOP Wind farm contractor in Viet Nam
• Khang Duc’s Construction sequences of Offshore Windfarm
• Khang Duc’ Energy Projects

Source: offshoreWIND.biz