A series of wind power projects in the Central region… fly with the wind

More than half of the country’s nearly 60 wind power projects are concentrated in the Central region. But so far, none of the projects in this region have been put into operation or have been effective. The projects have been… blown away by the wind.

Projects that go with the wind

Nine years ago, the first wind power project was licensed for investment in Quang Ngai, on Ly Son island district. The investor was Ly Son Wind Power Joint Stock Company (a joint venture of three companies from Germany). However, due to disagreement on the electricity price (the investor at that time offered 750 VND/kWh of electricity), while Vietnam Electricity (EVN) only agreed to buy at 500 VND/kWh, this wind power project was… abandoned.

Meanwhile, the Tu Bong - Khanh Hoa 1 Wind Power Plant Project located near the foot of Ca Pass, in Tu Bong area (Van Ninh district, Khanh Hoa province) also encountered many difficulties, including the fact that EVN did not agree to buy electricity at the price of 0.05 USD/kWh, but only agreed to buy at the price of 0.04 USD/kWh (in 1997), so the project was also "swept away with the wind".

Tuy Phong Wind Power Plant (Binh Thuan), one of three wind power plants in Vietnam that has come into operation. Photo: HM

In Binh Dinh province, the local government has licensed the Nhon Hoi, Phuong Mai 1, and Phuong Mai 3 wind power projects. However, these projects have been on paper for too long, so the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone Management Board and the Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee had to revoke them. The projects "disappeared", leaving behind many devastated forests.

Ninh Thuan Province, the end point of the South Central region, which is assessed to have abundant wind potential, has also officially decided to revoke the investment certificate of the Phuoc Dan Wind Power Plant Project (Ninh Phuoc District), with a registered investment capital of nearly 1,300 billion VND. This project is invested by Thuong Tin Energy Joint Stock Company. According to the Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee, not only is the progress behind schedule, the investor of this project also lacks determination, lacks the spirit of cooperation and lacks financial capacity, so the government has decided to revoke it.

In the North, since 2011, the People's Committee of Quang Binh province has had a meeting with Binh Thuan Wind Power Joint Stock Company about investing in wind power development in Quang Binh. After that, the investor presented the consulting, design, planning and surveying plan for new energy sources, and investment in wind power development to the leaders of Quang Binh province, but to date, this project has not made any further progress.

Meanwhile, Quang Tri province is implementing 3 projects, with a total expected installed capacity of 80 MW, including the following plants: Huong Phung 1, Huong Phung 2, Huong Linh 1 and Huong Linh 2. However, no one is sure that these projects will be completed and contribute to the national electricity output.

Wind power investment: Not easy

At the end of 2015, at a conference in Da Nang on the exploitation, development and use of renewable energy sources in the future, there were two dialectical reports that were of great help to state management levels, especially investors who want to participate in this potential but equally risky field.

Accordingly, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the World Bank (WB) believe that Vietnam has huge potential for wind power development, equivalent to 513,360 MW, which is more than 200 times the capacity of Son La Hydropower Plant and more than 10 times the total forecast capacity of the electricity industry in 2020.

However, another report said that Vietnam's actual wind power potential is less than 2% of the WB's estimate and not every region can build a wind power plant. The report also said that many domestic enterprises invest in wind power because they think that wind power is easy and profitable, but the reality is not that simple.

Furthermore, research on three wind power projects currently operating in Vietnam shows that the average construction cost for 1 MW of wind power is 2 million USD and the annual operating cost is 35,000 USD. Thus, with the current selling price to EVN of 7.8 US cents/kWh, although higher than the price of electricity to consumers, wind power investors still suffer heavy losses.

The above report said that is the reason why, over the past decade, on average, 5-8 wind power plant projects have been licensed for investment by domestic and foreign enterprises each year, but too few projects have "parked" and become effective.

A ray of hope for wind energy exploitation has just been ignited when Trung Nam Wind Power Joint Stock Company (Trung Nam Group) started construction of the Trung Nam Wind Power Plant Project in Ninh Thuan province, with a scale of 17 turbines and a total capacity of 34 MW.

According to the investor's plan, Phase I of the Project will be completed after 1 year of construction. Local authorities, ministries, branches and Vietnamese people really hope that the factory will be completed on schedule and be effective.

However, the groundbreaking does not say anything. “In reality, there are too many projects that start construction with great fanfare and grand declarations, but after reaping some profits from the resources on the project site, the investor transfers the project and tries to run away,” an official from the General Department of Energy (Ministry of Industry and Trade) acknowledged.

According to Baoautu.vn