Driving Innovative Renewable Energy Project Globally
WIND
Potential
Vietnam’s wind energy potential is considerably higher compared to Thailand, Laos or Cambodia. A World Bank survey estimated the total potential of wind power at 513,360 MW equivalent to 200 times the output of Southeast Asia’s largest power plant, the Son La Hydroelectric Plant in northern Vietnam & ten times the entire national capacity forecast for 2020.
The Vietnam government has set a target for wind energy development to reach 800 MW by 2020, 2000 MW by 2025 and 6000 MW by 2030.
Vietnam’s wind potential is significant in the central coastal region including Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue and Binh Dinh and the south, including Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Lam Dong, Tra Vinh and Soc Trang.
Comparison of wind energy potential between Vietnam and other Asian countries
Comparison of average wind speeds in Vietnam
Comparison of average wind speeds at 65 m above ground level estimated for different provinces of Vietnam
Estimation of wind energy potential in Vietnam
Estimation of wind energy potential with average wind speeds ≥ 6 m/s at 65 m above ground level for three regions of Vietnam.
Existing Wind Farms
The application of wind energy in Vietnam is still in the early stage. By the end of 2013, there were only four projects are in operation with full or partial capacities.
Wind Resource Locations
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) conducted a study to assess wind resource at selected sites in Vietnam for updating the previous Wind Energy Resource Atlas of Southeast Asia by using the mesoscale-microscale modeling system verified by the latest wind measurements from 9 tall towers instrumented for wind energy assessment.
The results showed that in the south, the relatively good wind resource along exposed coastal points of southcentral Vietnam, especially between Ho Chi Minh City and Khanh Hoa, including those in Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces is due mainly to deflection of the monsoon winds, especially in summer, around the Southeast Asian landmass, and secondarily to localized see breezes. The mean wind speeds at 80 m above ground level at these points have been predicted to reach 6.5-7.0 m/s.
Farther south there is another area of better-than-average winds (5.0-6.0 m/s) along the coast near Can Tho Province.
The third area of significant interest is the highlands west of Binh Dinh Province along the Dac Lac and Gia Lai provincial border, where channeling through a broad mountain gap is expected to result in the mean wind speeds of 6.0-6.5 m/s. Moving north, relatively windy areas are mainly confined to the coast, notably near Quang Binh Province and southeast of Ha Noi. These are due mainly to sea breezes. In addition, the forcing of winds over the mountains along the Laotian border in central Vietnam is predicted to produce relatively good winds along the ridgelines.
Estimation of wind energy potential with average wind speeds ≥ 6 m/s at 65 m above ground level for three regions of Vietnam.
VREC & Wind Farms
The VREC is working with Provincial Governments of the south & central coast to locate the best sites for both on &off shore wind farms.
The VREC is in the process of establishing an office at Vung Tau, which is the main south/central city & port of Vietnam. This will assist VREC members better work with the Provincial Governments of the south & central provinces. Vung Tau is also home to some of Vietnam’s largest ship yards & docks which are essential for bringing in, or building, wind turbine towers.
Wind & Water
Since late 2014 to August 2016, a serious drought has been impacting the South Central Coast, Central Highlands and Southern regions of Vietnam.
Lower than average rainfall and very high temperatures throughout 2015 further exacerbated the situation. In the first half of 2015, nine provinces were seriously affected in the South Central Coast, Central highlands and Southern Vietnam (Quang Tri, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, Nghe An, Kon Tum). Among these, three provinces declared the emergency situation in June 2015 (Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan and Nghe An).
For the past three months, the ongoing drought, water shortage and salt intrusion have posed a significant risk to some 1.75 million people in the South-Central regions, Central Highlands and Mekong Delta regions of Vietnam. A total of 39 out of the 63 provinces (62 per cent) of Viet Nam have been affected and 12 provinces have declared a State of Emergency (Binh Thuan, Ben Tre, Vinh Long, Soc Trang, Ca Mau, Tra Vinh, Tien Giang, Long An, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Ninh Thuan, Kien Giang)
If we look at the above map of wind resources we quickly note where there has been drought is also where there are very good wind resources.
These drought affected provinces are keen to put into place strategies which will provide them with water & food security in the future. To this achieve this goal, the VREC is keen to combine both off & on shore Wind Farms with water Desal & purification projects.
