Wind could blow away Vietnam’s power shortage

13:28' 20/04/2008 (GMT+7)
Photo: aboutmyplanet.com
VietNamNet Bridge - Harnessing the power of the wind is the way to go, say experts, since it does not pollute or take away land from people or crops.
Vietnam, which is plagued by energy shortages, has great potential for developing wind energy, an expert has said.
Speaking at a recent conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Power Engineering Consulting Company No. 3’s Grid Department head Nguyen Hoang Dung said around 28,000 square kilometers of the country’s land had an average wind speed of over seven meters per second at the height of 65 meters above sea level.
This speed was considered suitable by international experts, and offered a potential of over 110,000 megawatts (MW), he said.
A survey by the World Bank has found Vietnam has greater wind energy potential than Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
It can produce 513,360 MW annually, or 200 times the output of the Son La Hydroelectric Plant in the north – Southeast Asia’s largest power plant – and ten times the entire national capacity forecast for 2020.

Some coastal areas in the central and central highlands regions are considered good places to set up wind farms, thanks to high “wind power density” and wide open land.
The survey found Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces to have the greatest potential for harnessing wind energy.
In addition to high average speed, local wind tends to be steady due to the small amounts of storms.
During the monsoon period, winds reach speeds of six to seven meters per second, which experts consider suitable for building electricity stations with a capacity of 3-3.5 MW.
Dung said the government had enlightened policies for harnessing wind energy.
It funds programs, surveys and experiments for the purpose, and allows tax-free import, production and transportation of equipment needed for developing renewable and new energy technologies.
Obstacles to overcome
But the development and exploitation of wind energy faces abarrier in the form of pricing.
State-owned monopoly power distributor Vietnam Electricity (EVN) only pays 4.5 cents for a kilowatt hour (kWh) of wind energy though the cost of generating it is not less than six cents.
Countries developing wind energy often provide subsidies since costs cannot yet compare with that of traditional electricity.
Dung said it was therefore necessary for the government to work on pricing.
According to some experts, another obstacle is the shortage of data.
There are around 100 hydrometeorology stations now that can only measure wind speeds at a height of 10 to 12 meters.
A beginning
The country has built a few wind farms with support from foreign investors.
The Phuong Mai 3 Wind Power Plant, which has an annual capacity of 55 MW – the country’s largest – was built in the central Binh Dinh Province last September.
Experts say wind energy has several advantages over other power sources it does not cause pollution, affect crops or displace people.
It also helps save on the cost of transmission since wind turbines can be set up near residential areas.
The total installed wind power capacity worldwide was 93,849 MW last year.
By 2010 the World Wind Energy Association expects it to go up to 160,000 MW.
Local and foreign experts say Vietnam also has potential for developing other renewable sources like biomass and solar energy.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has said the country can achieve 200 to 250 MW of biomass capacity using sugarcane, betel, cassava, corn and other crops.
The country’s electricity demand is expected to rise to 80 billion kWh this year, 15.8 percent higher than in 2007.
But the supply will fall well short due to technical breakdowns at power plants and delayed projects, according to EVN.
Faced with this shortage, EVN is implementing a plan to encourage a 1.5 percent cut in electricity use this year.