HANOI, April 17 — Vietnam aims to raise its total installed power generation capacity to 183 to 236 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from more than 80 GW at the end of 2023, the government said yesterday, citing details of an amended national power development plan.
It said in a statement that the plan will focus on renewable energy development and add nuclear power to the mix for the first time.
The Southeast Asian country, a regional industrial hub, is seeking to ramp up its electricity generation capacity to support its fast-growing economy and meet its pledge for carbon neutrality by 2050.
Solar power will account for 25.3 per cent to 31.1 per cent of the total installed capacity by 2030, while onshore and nearshore wind energy will account for 14.2 per cent to 16.1 per cent, according to the plan, also known as PDP8.
Coal-fired power plants will account for 13.1 per cent to 16.9 per cent of the mix, hydropower 14.7 per cent to 18.2 per cent, and Liquefied Natural Gas plants 9.5 per cent to 12.3 per cent.
The country aims to put its first nuclear power plants into operation between 2030 and 2035, with a combined capacity of 4.0 GW- 6.4 GW.
It also aims to have six GW to 17 GW of offshore wind energy between 2030 and 2035.
The revised ambitious targets for the power plan come after authorities flagged a retroactive change to preferential prices for producers of solar and onshore wind energy, which has caused concerns among investors.
According to the statement, Vietnam would need a total investment of US$136.3 billion (RM601.2 billion) from 2026 to 2030 to realise the targets, including US$118.2 billion (RM521.4 billion) for new power plants and US$18.1 billion (RM79.8 billion) for its grid.
— Reuters
