El 8,6% del territorio de Vietnam tiene potencial eólico, tanto en las zonas costeras como en el interior montañoso. Dado el rápido desarrollo económico del país, cabe esperar también una rápida extensión de la energía eólica, tan pronto como empiecen a operar la fábrica de aerogeneradores que se está construyendo.
El potencial eólico de Vietnam es inmenso: 28.000 kilómetros cuadrados con excelentes recursos eólicos (8,6 por ciento), mientras que Camboya sólo tiene 345 km2 (0,2%), Laos 6.776 km2 (2,9%) y Thailandia sólo 761 km2 (0,2%).
El Comité Popular de la provincia vietnamita de Lam Dong ha aprobado la licencia para la construcción del parque eólico en Dalat, una ciudad en una zona montañosa al sur del país. Cavico Transport ha trabajado durante un año en el proyecto de viabilidad para fabricar turbinas en la región. La zona de Tram Hahn, a 1.600 metros de altitud y con fuertes vientos, ha sido la elegida para la puesta en marcha de dicha planta.
El proyecto tendrá un coste de 57 millones de dólares (40,2 millones de euros). La producción estimada alcanza los 90 millones de kilovatios anuales.
El parque eólico contribuirá a ajustar la producción eléctrica a la creciente demanda del país, al tiempo que generará una energía limpia en un territorio en el que la preocupación medioambiental empieza a surgir con fuerza y tomar cuerpo.
Vietnam persigue la meta de que la explotación de la energía renovable ocupará en 2020 el cinco por ciento del suministro de la electricidad total.
Según las investigaciones preliminares, un 8,6 por ciento del territorio vietnamita dispone de ventajas para explotar la energía eólica, que aspira alcanzar 513 megavatios eólicos de generación en 2020.
Cuatro compañías locales se han asociado con el fabricante alemán Fuhrländer AG para establecer una planta en la zona económica especial de Nhon Hoi en la provincia de Binh Dinh, cien kilómetros al sur de la capital.
La inversión inicial será de 39 millones de dólares y las obras comenzaron a principios de 2009, según Vu Dinh Tuan, subdirector de la compañía de energías renovables Thien Nang, quien detalló que las otras empresas son la ingeniería Lilama, la constructora Coma y la institución financiera Techcombank.
La fábrica tendrá una capacidad de producción mensual de 15 a 20 turbinas, cada una de las cuales generará entre 1,5 y 2,5 megavatios, y la mitad serán exportados para financiar la operación.
El país sufre una severa carencia de generación de energía eléctrica después de que su economía se haya desarrollado a un ritmo vertiginoso, creciendo por encima del 7 por ciento anual desde 2000.
Ya dispone de una capacidad de generación de unos 13 gigavatios, pero quiere llegar a los 35 gigavatios antes de 2015.
Fuhrländer AG anunció recientemente que construirá otra de estas plantas en Estados Unidos para abastecer a la demanda de ese país, y llevaba diez años esperando un proyecto para entrar en el mercado vietnamita.
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Second wind power project planned to ease electricity shortage
A wind power plant will be built in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat to help meet Vietnam’s ever-growing demand for electricity, the Lam Dong Province People’s Committee announced.
Lam Dong Provincial authorities have given permission to Cavico Transportation, a subsidiary of Vietnamese infrastructure development company Cavico Corp., to begin building a wind farm in Da Lat City’s Xuan Truong Commune in 2010.
Vietnam’s second wind farm, estimated to cost US$57 million, is expected to produce 90 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year.
“This is the first wind farm project in the central western region of Vietnam," Cavico Executive Director Hung Manh Tran said. "This environmentally-friendly project will help solve the nation’s electricity shortage problem.”
Vietnam’s first wind farm is a $20 million plant on Con Dao Island in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. Built by Switzerland’s Aerogie Group, it is expected to become operational in 2010.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates demand for electricity in Vietnam’s is growing by 16 percent each year.
The wind farm, located in an area of 1,500 hectares in Tuy Phong District, Binh Thuan Province, will connect to the national power grid with an initial capacity of 7.5 megawatts (MW) a day by the end of June, the province’s Department of Trade and Industry announced.
Vietnam Renewable Energy, the project investor, has finished building the first wind turbine and has stepped up installation of the next four, said its deputy director, Dinh Duy Hiep.
The first stage of the wind power project, at a cost of VND996 billion (US$54.3 million), is to be completed by the end of this year and have a capacity of 30 MW a day with 20 wind turbines.
The capacity will eventually rise to 120 MW with 80 turbines.
Private firm weighs wind energy plant for Con Dao
The domestic trading and real estate company Sy Cat has submitted a plan to Ba Ria-Vung Tau province’s authorities to build a wind energy plant worth some US$26 million on Con Dao island off the southern coastal province, in line with the province’s plan to turn Con Dao into an eco-tourism island.
Therefore, the department has sent a statement to the provincial government requesting approval for the wind energy plant on the island, 180km offshore Vung Tau City.
Under the investor’s plan, the wind energy plant will be built on 45 hectares encompassing Nhat beach and Da Trang beach.
Development in the first phase will take three years, and the plant will have a designed generation capacity of 10MW. When the demand rises and upon approval from authorities, the investor will build more facilities to double the generation capacity to some 20MW.
The private investor estimates the cost at VND445 billion, or US$26 million, and it seeks to operate the wind energy plant in 30 years.
The power will be sold to the island district at a price of 16.5 US cents a kilowatt in the first 10 years of operation, down to 15.7 cents for the next 15 years and 13.2 cents from the 25th year.
The project, if licensed, will be the second wind power plant on the island. Last year, Aerogie.plus Vietnam, a subsidiary of Swiss energy firm Aerogie.plus Solutions AG, received a license to develop the first wind power station in Con Dao, touted as a solution to protect the environment, reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and promote eco-tourism.
Hoang Nghia Doan, party secretary of Con Dao Island, had told the Daily on an occasion that wind power projects, including wind towers, should be designed in harmony with the natural landscape and contribute to the preservation of the environment and historic venues on the island.
The island district has only four diesel-fueled generators with a combined capacity of 3MW, which is far behind demand of electricity for daily activities of islanders and fish processing facilities.
As the cost for running diesel-fuelled generators is high, the annual budget used to offset losses from such operations amounts to some VND10 billion.
Con Dao Island is in fact an archipelago of 16 small islets with a total area of more than 7,670 hectares, and is some 45 minutes’ flight from HCMC. Con Lon is the largest island where there are currently four hotels and resorts.
The island is considered as one of the most attractive destinations in Vietnam owing to its long and tranquil beaches, good natural landscapes and historical relics.
Con Dao will have 50,000 residents by 2020, up 10 times compared to the current population, while the number of travelers to the islands is expected to reach 500,000 to 700,000 per year by then.
Cavico Gets Approval to Build Wind Farm in Vietnam
Cavico Corp., an infrastructure development company in Vietnam, today that Cavico Transportation, its wholly owned subsidiary, has officially received permission from Lam Dong province’s People Committee of the location to build a wind farm in this province.
In October of 2008 Cavico received approval from the officials of Lam Dong province to study and evaluate different areas in the province for possible wind farms. The province will use the results of these studies as part of its windpower planning.
For its contribution to the studies, Cavico is given a priority to invest and participate in windpower projects in the province according to its financial capability. For a few years Cavico’s management team has researched and identified a few potential sites for wind farm development along the country. And it has been found that the coastal areas of southern and south-central Vietnam, where the proposed site is located, show exceptional promise for wind energy.
In this first phase, Cavico is studying the construction of a 30 megawatt (MW) wind farm, which will connect to the national grid upon completion. The feasibility study at the site is expected to be completed over a period of one year and will involve collection of wind data and detailed analysis to determine the scope and size of the wind turbines. Prior to the completion of the study, Cavico plans to begin construction of connecting roads and other site preparations.
According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Vietnam’s demand for electricity is growing at a rate of 16% each year. The growth and development of Vietnam is dependent on its ability to keep up with the growing energy demand. Cavico’s strategic decision to enter into wind energy projects has therefore received encouragement from the Vietnamese government.
“We are very pleased to announce our entry into the wind energy market. We believe it is the best time to enter this market because the Vietnamese government encourages investment and construction of clean energy projects and also considers providing special assistance and incentives on similar projects. Vietnam has more than 2,025 miles of coastline, which is very promising for wind energy development,” commented Mr. Hung Manh Tran, executive vice president of Cavico. “This is the first wind farm project in the central western region of Vietnam. This environment-friendly project will be a great contribution in addressing the electricity shortage problems faced by Vietnam,” Mr. Tran added.
Wind Energy Potential in Vietnam
During the last 10 years (1997–2007), the electricity demand in Vietnam has been growing at a rate of more than 15 percent per year, significantly higher than the GDP in the same period, 5 to 7 percent. With 75 percent of the population living in rural areas and about 20 percent of them have not yet been provided with electricity, it is expected that Vietnam would have a prolonged electricity strain due to electrification, urbanization, industrialization and population growth. Besides using the traditional energy sources, increased reliance on renewable energies could be a solution. Of several alternative renewable energies, wind is the most technically suitable and could be a good solution for about 300,000 rural non-electrified households in Vietnam.
It is found that Vietnam has a good potential for wind energy. The coastal areas of southern and south-central Vietnam show exceptional promise for wind energy both because of strong winds with average speed of over seven meters per second at the height of 65 meters above sea level and their proximity to population centers. On a land area basis, approximately 28,000 square kilometers (sq. km) of Vietnam (8.6 percent of the total land area) experience good to excellent winds, while the corresponding figures for Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand are 345 sq. km (0.2 percent), 6776 sq. km (2.9 percent), and 761 sq. km (0.2 percent), respectively . The wind energy potential in Vietnam can produce 513,360 MW annually, or 200 times the output of the Son La Hydroelectric Plant in the north – Southeast Asia’s largest power plant – and ten times the entire national capacity forecast for 2020.
Potential Onshore and Offshore Area
Most potential of wind power energy in Vietnam is coastal area of the North covers provinces such as Quang Ninh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and the South covers two provinces Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan. Meanwhile the offshore wind power seems to be potential.
Beside that, Vietnam’s first wind turbine factory would be commissioned in 2009 at Nhon Hoi economic zone in Binh Dinh province. This US$39 million project is a cooperation between four local companies Lilama, Techcom Bank, Coma, Thien Nang Co and German Manufacturer Fuhrlaender AG Group.
Drivers for Wind Energy
Currently, Vietnamese government is encouraging wind power development by:
* Considering application for incentives favorably (Import tax exemption, land-use, etc)
* Planning to standardize Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
* Encourage Pilot Projects
* Welcome international assistances
However, the development and exploitation of wind energy faces significant barrier in the form of pricing. State-owned monopoly power distributor Vietnam Electricity (EVN) only pays US$4.5 cents for a kilowatt hour (kWh) of wind energy though the cost of generating it is not less than US$6 cents. It is necessary for a country like Vietnam developing wind energy to provide subsidies since costs cannot yet compare with that of traditional electricity.
Opportunity
The Government of Vietnam introduced policy framework for development of renewable electricity related to rural electrification and supplying electricity to the power grid. The recent decision of government on approval of rural energy project that makes favourable conditions for renewable energy utilization. Also the priority is to develop renewable energy sources capable of meeting:
* 2.0 percent of total primary commercial energy needs by 2010
* 3.0 percent by 2020 and
* 6.0 percent by 2050
Vietnam has developed a sufficient technological base for small wind turbines, which appears to be one of the best options for isolated rural areas. So, in the near future, there is a good potential market for small wind turbines, estimated at 300,000 units. In addition, the rural electrification in Vietnam becomes good base for encouraging investors to invest in development of grid connected renewable electricity projects owned by the private enterprises, cooperatives or other entities.
Wind energy industry in Vietnam is at an early stage of development. Eventually wind sector has a potential to create a strong local manufacturing industry, apart from of course aleviating the country’s power needs.Thus it will be a win-win situation, which needs a combination of government support, industry initiative and entreprenurial spirit to succeed. Wind could indeed blow Vietnam’s way!
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