Although very enthusiastic about wind power, Quang Tri is facing a chicken-egg situation in the issue of establishing and approving land use planning to serve the process of preparing documents to invite interest and bid for wind power projects.
The fault lies not in the wind but in the Law.
Very enthusiastic in organizing and implementing steps to select investors for wind power projects when previously many projects stopped here, but Quang Tri province is facing many difficulties and problems.
Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee said that according to the provisions of Clause 3 and Clause 4, Article 126 of the Land Law, the conditions for bidding to select investors using land include 4 types.
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| A wind power project in Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province. Photo: Tran Tuyen. |
These are on the list of land lots for bidding with land use decided by the Provincial People's Council; have detailed planning or zoning planning at a scale of 1/2,000 approved; conditions according to general provisions of the law on bidding and other conditions according to provisions of the law on industry and sector management.
Currently, the basis for approving the bidding documents is stipulated in Article 13 of Decree 115/2024/ND-CP. However, in Article 39 of Decree 115/2024/ND-CP, the approval of the bidding documents must also ensure compliance with Article 13 of Decree 115, notably the provision "in accordance with the detailed planning or zoning plan at a scale of 1/2,000 approved by a competent authority".
“These regulations are suitable for investment projects to build urban areas with mixed-use functions, synchronizing technical infrastructure systems, social infrastructure with housing according to the provisions of the law on construction for new construction, renovation, and urban adjustment, but not suitable for wind power projects,” is the comment from the People's Committee of Quang Tri province to the Government .
According to this locality's analysis from the reality of dozens of wind power projects invested here, the wind power project has the characteristic of not specifically determining the location of the turbine, route direction as well as related works, so the preparation of detailed planning or zoning planning at a scale of 1/2,000 of the project to submit to competent authorities for approval, as a basis for approving the invitation for interest documents, invitation for bid documents encounters difficulties during the implementation process.
Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee added: the establishment of 1/2,000 zoning plans for all areas with wind power potential is not only costly but also carries great risks. Because it is very possible that if the plan is completed and no one is interested in investing, the plan will become "suspended" - the land remains empty, money is lost, and the wind still blows.
“The reality of wind power projects in the area shows that some turbine locations and turbine connection lines can only be optimized accurately when selecting equipment suppliers. Therefore, the establishment and approval of detailed planning or zoning planning at a scale of 1/2,000 may have to be adjusted many times, causing waste in the investment process, leading to delays in selecting investors to implement the project,” said a representative of the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee.
Around the chicken and the egg
According to experts, to implement a wind power project, investors must coordinate with turbine suppliers and technical design consultants to calculate in detail the minimum distance between turbines, safety distances and optimal operating conditions according to the specific technological characteristics of each type of turbine intended to be used.
In addition, to ensure efficiency and safety, investors must install wind measuring equipment for at least 12 consecutive months to obtain data on wind speed, direction, energy density and meteorological characteristics. Without these factors, it is impossible to determine the optimal configuration and location of the turbine.
It is worth mentioning that these tasks are only performed when the investor has been identified/approved.
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| Current legal regulations make it difficult for many new onshore wind power projects to get off the ground. |
Another challenge is that the land use criteria for wind power projects must be appropriate to the scale of the project. According to Circular 02/2019/TT-BCT, the land use rate for a wind power project must not exceed 0.35 ha/MW, and the temporary land use area of a wind power project must not exceed 0.3 ha/MW.
In reality, each wind power project in the Power Plan VIII and adjusted VIII has a capacity of 50 MW to 100 MW. Therefore, the detailed planning or zoning plan at a scale of 1/2,000 of the project will encounter a situation where it is difficult to determine the location of the land plot when the location of the turbine and the total surface of the project have not been determined.
Therefore, since the Power Plan VIII and then the Power Plan VIII implementation plan, it is still very rare for localities to select investors to implement projects due to the "incongruity" between legal requirements and implementation practices.
Faced with this reality, to be consistent with reality and help speed up the progress of wind power projects, Quang Tri province has proposed that the Prime Minister direct relevant ministries/sectors to allow localities in the process of approving the invitation for interest and bidding documents for energy projects not to consider the conformity with the detailed planning or 1/2,000 scale zoning planning approved by competent authorities.
Source: https://baodautu.vn/du-an-dien-gio-kho-voi-yeu-cau-co-quy-hoach-dat-12000-duoc-phe-duyet-d325656.html
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