Vingroup eyes $30 billion investments in renewable energy and LNG

Vingroup has sent an official dispatch to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son proposing to add large-scale renewable energy and LNG power projects into the country's revised Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8).

The renewable energy initiatives will have a total capacity of 47,500 MW in the 2025-2035 period. They are expected to be deployed across seven localities, namely Son La, Dak Lak, Ninh Thuan, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Tra Vinh/Soc Trang, and Khanh Hoa.

The initiatives include a floating solar power project in the Son La hydropower reservoir with a total capacity of 8,000 MW; solar power combined with wind power in Dak Lak with a total capacity of 9,000 MW; and a solar power venture in Binh Phuoc with a total capacity of more than 8,000 MW.

By 2030, Vingroup expects to generate a total of 20,500 MW of renewable energy, including 13,900 MW from solar power and 6,600 MW from wind power, with an estimated investment of $20-25 billion.

Another proposal is integrating a 5,000 MW LNG power plant in Haiphong into PDP8. If approved, construction would last from 2025 to 2030 with an investment of $5.5 billion.

The Haiphong LNG power plant will compensate capacity for other delayed thermal power plants such as BOT Nam Dinh 1 (1,200 MW), Quang Tri (1,320 MW), Vinh Tan 3 (1,980 MW), and Song Hau 2 (2,120 MW).

The government has set an ambitious target of 8 per cent GDP growth this year, with aspirations of double-digit expansion in the years to follow. In the draft adjusted PDP8, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) proposed five scenarios for installed power capacity and calculated the total installed power capacity nationwide by 2030 to reach 211,800 MW, an increase of 56,200 MW compared to the PDP8 approved nearly two years ago.

To achieve the increased capacity, the MoIT proposed to expand the room for developing renewable energy sources, imported electricity, and flexible thermal power sources. Accordingly, solar power capacity is set to quadruple to 34,000 MW. Pumped storage hydropower and battery storage are also proposed to increase six-fold from 2,700 MW to 15,250 MW. Meanwhile, imported power from China and Laos could triple to 14,600 MW.

Energy tech enterprises play pivotal role with innovation Vietnam’s energy transition plan is drawing acute interest from foreign funds, with more investments bestowed on local firms.

Excelerate Energy ties up with PV Gas for LNG supply Excelerate Energy, Inc., a leading provider of floating storage and regasification units and liquefied natural gas (LNG) solutions, and Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV Gas), a subsidiary of PetroVietnam, have entered into a strategic partnership for US LNG supply.

EIB and SBV deepen green finance cooperation to support energy transition The European Investment Bank (EIB), the financing arm of the European Union, and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on March 12 announced commitments to deepening their cooperation on sustainable finance through technical assistance under the EIB’s Greening Financial Systems (GFS) programme.