Over the last decade, there has been rapid growth in Vietnam’s energy industry. The demand for electricity in Vietnam has significantly increased along with its overall economic growth. According to the national data, the average daily electricity consumption was 615 million kWh per day in the first few months of 2020, an increase by 7.5 percent compared with 2019. Although many sectors and businesses were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s electricity consumption still rose.
Vietnam has been impacted by pollution and climate change so it requires the country to reform the power sector and adopt an effective transition to a renewable energy system. This shift would help reduce these problems, ensure energy security, and meet the growing demand for electricity of business activities and economic and industrial development.
The Vietnamese government adopted the Renewable Energy Development Strategy by 2030 with an outlook to 2050. The plan focused on expanding "the scale and increasing the proportion of renewable energy sources," solving "the issues of energy supply to the urban area," contributing to promotion of production development, and building "a society which effectively uses the environmentally friendly natural resources." Vietnam aims to unconditionally reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent by 2030.
The Vietnamese renewable energy market has also risen gradually. Under the Vietnamese law on investment, foreign investors can incorporate 100 percent ownership of Vietnamese companies in the energy sector and can trade in different types such as 100 percent foreign invested company, joint ventures or public-private partnership and BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer). Moreover, Vietnam has adopted flexible policies for renewable energy in recent years, particularly paying attention to the solar and wind energy projects in the country.
The country has great potential for the renewable energy industry, which helps it take a cleaner and more secure energy pathway.
