To tackle the issue, chairman of Ninh Thuan province People’s Committee Luu Xuan Vinh has recently proposed the Prime Minister to approve a project, which will build a solar power plant in Thuan Nam district and a 500kV power transmission line, to transmit electricity for wind power and solar power plants with abundant electricity in the province.
In the proposal, Mr. Vinh said that being approved by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the province has licensed 30 wind and solar power projects with the total registered capital of VND50 trillion (US$2.15 billion).
So far, 18 projects have come into operation contributing in socioeconomic development, increasing budget revenue, creating jobs and improving the life of local residents. However 10 out of these 18 projects must reduce their capacity to make sure safety for transmission system.
Statistics by the province show that as of June 30, the capacity reduction is equivalent to 23.2 million kW with the total damage estimated at VND49.5 billion ($2.13 million). If this situation goes on, the number will increase to 224 million kW, equivalent to VND479.4 billion ($20.64 million) by the end of this year. The damage will be thousands of billions of dong in following years.
This has heavily affected investment efficiency of projects as well as socioeconomic development in the province and resulted in losses for investors.
According to the province, 220kV and 500kV works in the investment plan of Vietnam Electricity (EVN) do not meet transmission demand of solar power plants invested according to the Government’s policy, in which Ninh Thuan is permitted to increase solar power capacity to 2,000MW by 2020.
In order to solve the issue in accordance with conclusions by the Government, the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the provincial People’s Committee has started selecting investors and proposed the ministry to supplement the solar power plant project in Thuan Nam, which includes investment in transmission infrastructure and a 500kV line, to the national electricity development plan.
At a working session with Ninh Thuan province recently, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung affirmed that wind and solar power is a strength which can help Ninh Thuan become a clean energy center of the country. This source of energy contributes an important part to the country’s energy security strategy. Within over one year, plants in Ninh Thuan have generated over 1,000MW of wind and solar power and that is an outstanding and commendable achievement. However, transmission infrastructure has been unable to catch up with electricity production development in the province.
Hence, the province should focus on building a plan for the province according to the Planning Law. Projects’ implementation must base on industry and field restructuring to prevent spontaneous development or development according to movement especially in the renewable energy field.
