Mekong Delta attractive for renewable energy investment

The Mekong Delta has great advantages to develop the renewable energy sector. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - The Mekong Delta has great advantages to develop the renewable energy sector, including wind, solar, biomass and gas thermal power, according to experts.

Eleven of 13 cities and provinces in the region hold great potential for solar energy development, with average solar radiation of 1.387-1.534 Kwh per year.

Coastal areas in the region have high potential to develop wind power, with wind speeds of 6.5-7m per second.

Taking advantage of its natural conditions and investment attraction policies, the region has become a destination for investors in renewable energy projects.

Duong Vu Nam, Deputy Director of Ca Mau province’s Department of Industry and Trade, said the southernmost province of Ca Mau has a coastline of 254 kilometres which creates potential for wind power development.

The province also has high solar radiation and a large area of production forests, providing about 225,000 - 300,000 tonnes annually of waste wood from wood production and processing.

Waste wood is an abundant raw material used for the development of biomass power, he added.

The long coastline, estuaries and islands also create favourable conditions for building warehouses, ports, gas pipelines and storage and regasification systems to develop gas-fired power projects.

More than 40 domestic and foreign investors are keen on investment opportunities in wind, solar and biomass power in the province.

The province has 11 wind power plants with a total capacity of 675MW, and a 24MW biomass project is under construction.

It has approved a new 200MW wind power project expected to be put into operation by 2023.

It has also proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade add 26 windpower projects with a total capacity up to 14,614MW to the National Electricity Development Plan in the 2021-2030 period.

Soc Trang province also has great advantages for developing wind and solar power projects.

The province has a 72km-long coastline with an average wind speed of 8.3 metres per second. It receives an average of 2,300-2,480 hours of sunshine per year.

Twenty windpower projects with a total capacity of 1,435 MW have been approved in the province, deputy director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Le Thanh Nam said.

Nine of them under construction will be connected to the national power grid after completion.

Pham Quoc Hung, Director of Quec Vinh Soc Trang Wind Power Co.,Ltd, said that his company’s windpower plant is being built in Soc Trang province’s Vinh Chau township, with an expected output of 30MW in its first phase.

The plant is expected to start running on a trial basis in August and begin commercial operation in September.