Wind Power Off To A Good Start

A wind-power project developed in the central province of Binh Thuan When the first wind-power plant got commissioned and generated power to the national grid in late August, many people were still skeptical about the future of this renewable energy resource in Vietnam. The reason was simple: investment in wind power was deemed preventively high while the selling price for this energy is low, discouraging the investors. But early birds in this investment sector hold a different view, expressing their confidence that sooner or later the Government will throw their support behind wind power given the greater benefits for the economy, especially at a time when power shortage is crippling the economy. From wind power projects In the first wind-power project developed in Binh Thuan Province’s Tuy Phong District mentioned above with five turbines generating a combined output of 7.5 megawatts in the first stage, the Vietnam Renewable Energy Co. as the investor is now ready to deepen its investment in the project. Between now and the end of this year, the investor will install seven more turbines to raise the first-phase output to 18MW before starting the next phases. The second and third phases of the project, due for completion next year, will witness 80 more turbines to be developed, raising the total output to 120MW at the total cost of VND2 trillion. The motive behind the expansion is that the sticky issue regarding the power price will be settled soon as the Government is now ready to step in. The Ministry of Industry and Trade last month finished a draft decision on the selling price of wind power, suggesting the price be raised to 8 U.S. cents a kWh instead of the current 5.5 cents, which is the cause of dispute between EVN and independent investors. And the picture is getting all the brighter, as many more investors are showing keen interest in this renewable energy resource. Early last month, Cong Ly Construction and Trading Co. started work on a huge wind-power plant in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu at a total cost of nearly VND5 trillion. The power plant, with a designed output of 99MW, will be completed after two years of construction, and the investor expects to recoup investment after 14 years. Meanwhile, the HCM City-based Saigon Invest Group has just had blessing from the Government to develop a 200MW wind power plant in BinhThuan as the project has just been added to the national master plan on power development commonly known as National Power Scheme No. 6. The project requires US$2.2 million for each MW of generation capacity, or some US$440 million for the total cost. Also, Ninh Thuan Province as the neighbor of Binh Thuan has recently agreed in principle to a wind-power project by Trung Nam Investment and Construction Co. to develop another 200MW power plant. Nguyen Hai Yen, marketing manager of the company, says that the total invested capital for the project will amount to some US$500 million. … to equipment makers Aware of the wind power potential in Vietnam, several foreign equipment manufacturers have also started to enter the market. Fuhrlaender Vietnam, which supplied turbines to the first wind-power project in the country, has started work on a factory producing wind turbines in Binh Thuan worth US$25 million. In the first phase, the company will manufacture 48 turbines with a designed capacity of 1.5MW each, and will build 48 bigger ones with a capacity of 2.5MW each in the second phase. Part of the company’s output will be for export, said Van Hung Albert, chief representative of the company in Vietnam. In an encounter with the Saigon Times late last year, Siemens as one of the world’s leading electrical and electronics company also said it was mulling a plan to participate in wind energy projects in the country. Erdal Elver, president and chief executive officer of Siemens Vietnam, said the companies wanted to provide equipment and solutions for wind-power projects, adding “Vietnam is an excellent country for wind farms because of its long coastline.” In a recent report on energy for Asia, the World Bank said that Vietnam holds huge potential for wind power development, which amounts to over 500,000MW, or 200 times larger than the output of Son La Hydropower Plant. While the start-up investment in wind power project is deemed high, European researchers have pointed out that if all costs relating to environment protection are included, the cost of thermoelectric projects is 30% to 100% higher than that of wind-power projects. And that is the good ground for wind power development in the years to come.