At the end of July, the Ministry of Industry and Trade submitted a report to the Government on the implementation of the Pilot Research Project for offshore wind power development, including a plan for selecting investors.

Specifically, the project said that the first phase will focus on assigning state economic groups, creating a premise for perfecting legal regulations. After the legal system is perfected, then consider assigning to foreign investors and private investors. Regarding assigning to state economic groups such as the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN), the Electricity Group (EVN) or the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, this agency also gave a very detailed analysis.

Difficult to choose investors

Specifically, with the option of assigning PVN, the Ministry of Industry and Trade pointed out that this enterprise and its member units have certain advantages. Because offshore wind power will have a number of items and works similar to offshore oil and gas projects. Therefore, PVN has the advantage of using existing databases such as geotechnical and geophysical data of the oil and gas industry, facilities, abundant and qualified human resources in the pilot implementation. From there, it contributes to the efficiency in using existing assets, contributing to the protection of national sovereignty over seas and islands, and the exercise of sovereignty rights at sea. The report of the International Energy Agency (IEA) also pointed out that the professional experience of the oil and gas industry can account for 40-45% of the cost of an offshore wind power project. However, if PVN is selected, the Ministry of Industry and Trade also believes that it needs to be assessed in accordance with the Party's policy on the orientation of PVN's industry, profession, and business fields. Because PVN is currently not allowed to invest in other sectors, offshore wind power. In addition, the group must also change to meet the specific requirements of the offshore renewable energy industry. With the option of choosing EVN, the Ministry believes that with a lot of experience in investing, managing and operating power plants and power transmission systems. Therefore, EVN will have certain advantages when taking advantage of its existing experience and capacity in deploying offshore wind power. Furthermore, the management agency believes that assigning EVN to invest in the pilot also has certain advantages because it does not have to negotiate electricity prices, because EVN is also the unit that buys and sells electricity. However, offshore wind power is a new field, so the management agency believes that the requirements will be different from traditional power projects. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that it will continue to clarify when receiving opinions from ministries, branches, the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises and EVN. Finally, the Ministry proposed assigning a unit under the Ministry of National Defense to pilot the offshore wind power project. The Ministry believes that this option needs to be evaluated for suitability with the policy and feasibility after considering the capacity of the specific unit of the Ministry of National Defense. However, the representative of the Ministry of National Defense also recommended not assigning the pilot to units under the Ministry of National Defense due to capacity and experience requirements. Units under the Ministry of National Defense will only participate in some appropriate stages in the project implementation process.

What do the experts say?

Speaking to Dan Tri newspaper reporters, an expert in the field of wind power said that assigning a state-owned enterprise to pilot offshore wind power development is reasonable. Because Vietnam's offshore wind power sector is related to many issues, including national security and defense, many different economic sectors... "Assigning PVN or EVN to pilot is reasonable. However, in this field, oil and gas has more advantages. Because this is a profitable business and owns a database, facilities, and electrical construction equipment after many years of participating in the oil and gas industry," he analyzed. According to this person, PVN has experience, abundant human resources, and facilities in piloting offshore wind power. Meanwhile, EVN is suffering heavy losses due to unreasonable electricity prices, so borrowing capital to invest in piloting offshore wind power will be very difficult. Similarly, Dr. Ngo Duc Lam, former Deputy Director of the Institute of Energy (Ministry of Industry and Trade), also said that PVN has many advantages to carry out the pilot project of offshore wind power development under the direction of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. "However, because the pilot project of offshore wind power development is very complicated, PVN needs to cooperate with foreign organizations with experience, technology, and capital," he said. Regarding the option of choosing EVN for the pilot project, Mr. Lam said that in fact, EVN also has capital and cooperates with many foreign organizations. However, oil and gas has more experience offshore. "However, if EVN has resources and wants to participate in the pilot project, it is even better, each enterprise will do one area for the pilot project," Mr. Lam stated his opinion. The former leader of the Institute of Energy said that according to the Power Plan 8, after 2035, Vietnam will not build coal-fired or gas-fired thermal power plants to ensure the roadmap for implementing Net Zero. Therefore, it must be replaced with liquefied hydrogen to ensure zero carbon emissions. "Therefore, using electricity generated by offshore wind turbines as a method of splitting water to produce clean hydrogen gas. That means developing offshore wind power but not transferring electricity to the mainland but using electricity generated by offshore wind turbines to electrolyze water into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas," said Mr. Lam. According to this person, this is a very new technology so very few countries implement it. Currently, China has piloted it and has products.

What is the solution to develop offshore wind power?

According to Dr. Du Van Toan, renewable energy expert, Institute of Marine and Island Research (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment), building a comprehensive development strategy for the offshore wind power sector, turning Vietnam into an offshore wind power powerhouse (a country with a strong marine economy) is very necessary. "Therefore, it is necessary to have solutions to remove legal and policy obstacles. First of all, it is necessary to consider researching, developing and promulgating a National Strategy, along with a Roadmap for offshore wind power development to 2030 with a vision to 2050," he emphasized. In addition, the expert said that it is necessary to integrate the chapter on offshore wind power into the revised Electricity Law, and at the same time add to the Law on Marine and Island Resources and Environment regulations on technical sea space for wind power, guidelines for assessing social and environmental impacts, and regulations on granting survey licenses to domestic and foreign organizations with non-budgetary capital sources. "Plan the space for offshore wind power development for specific projects in conjunction with the Implementation Plan and the National Power Development Plan. Determine the legal framework, as well as space for offshore wind power exports, as signed by Vietnam with Singapore and Malaysia," said Dr. Du Van Toan. In addition, he said it is necessary to study programs and pilot models combining offshore wind power with green hydrogen production, offshore wind power islands and other types of industries such as wave energy, solar energy, tidal energy, marine farming, tourism, etc. To soon implement pilot projects on offshore wind power by 2030, he recommended the early promulgation of a National Assembly Resolution on piloting the development of offshore wind power projects (2024-2025). This could also create a basis for the promulgation of the Offshore Wind Power Law after 2030.