Making Renewable Energy a Key Economic Sector

The "specialties" of sun and wind used to be the cause of poverty in Ninh Thuan; now they have become an advantage to develop this land. In recent years, Ninh Thuan has surprised many visitors, because this land is confidently wearing a new color - the color of the green energy industry.

Abundant potential

Under the current economic development, the demand for energy has increased strongly. When traditional energy sources such as coal, oil and gas are limited, renewable energy sources such as wind energy and solar energy are considered as suitable solutions, helping each country solve the energy security problem.

In Vietnam, Ninh Thuan is famous as a sunny, windy place, very convenient for strong renewable energy development. Specifically, Ninh Thuan is the province with the highest wind speed in the country, reaching an average of 7.5 m/s at an altitude of 65 m and wind power density from 400-500 W / m2 or more, the highest in the Southern region; the strongest wind speed in the year is from 18 to 20 m/s (at the height of 12 m). There are few storms in Ninh Thuan and the wind blows evenly over 10 months with the speed from 6.4 to 9.6 m/s, ensuring stability for wind turbines to generate electricity. Besides, Ninh Thuan is a locality with high radiation intensity, long and uniform lighting time, so it has ideal conditions to receive a huge amount of solar radiation annually, up to over 230 kcal /cm2; in which the lowest month is about 14 kcal/cm2. The observed data shows that in Ninh Thuan, the average number of sunny hours of the year is about 2,600-2,800 hours, relatively evenly distributed throughout the year. The number of sunny months in a year is 9 months / year (equivalent to 200 sunny days / year). Therefore, this is a locality that is considered to have the largest solar energy potential in the country.

In the spirit of making the most of the available potential, local leaders have focused on inviting businesses to invest in the field of renewable energy. Up to now, stretching all over Ninh Thuan, from the sea to the hills, the fields of solar power and wind power have sprung up rapidly, making a miraculous change for this land. According to the provincial socio-economic development master plan approved by the Prime Minister, the economic development orientation of the province in the coming time is to develop according to the economic model of "green, clean", prioritizing 6 main groups of industries, with the goal of becoming a renewable energy center of the country, making renewable energy a pillar economic sector, creating a driving force for breakthrough and economic-social development. Lately, the Provincial People's Committee has formulated and submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for appraisal and approval the Ninh Thuan Solar Power Development Plan for the 2016-2020 period, with a vision to 2030, with a total capacity of 8,181 MW. Recently, the province has also formulated and submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for appraisal the Coastal Wind Power Development Plan of Ninh Thuan province in the period of 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045, to integrate into Power Planning VIII with the total capacity of 4,380 MW across 3 regions.

Opening a "wide door" to welcome investors

Ninh Thuan leaders have emphasized that investing and putting renewable energy projects into operation are very important levers to promote the local socio-economic development towards a breakthrough and in a sustainable and effective manner. The localities that had difficulty due to droughts in the past are now having many renewable energy projects, thereby creating jobs and improving people's lives. Not only that, the development of the renewable energy industry has also contributed to the development of the rural transport infrastructure system for the management and operation of energy plants in combination with serving production activities and travel needs of people; promoting the development of the province's real estate market, construction industry, trade, services and tourism; exploiting and efficiently using the wasteland and inefficient areas; at the same time, contributing to ensuring national energy security, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and protecting the environment.

It can be said that developing renewable energy is "one arrow hitting two targets". Therefore, the local government will actively pay more attention to the investment attraction policy (such as the land lease policy, supporting investors when implementing the project, compensation for site clearance), accompanying with both development and environmental protection for energy projects.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum