EVN proposes importing wind power from Laos.

Việt Nam•19/12/2023

Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) has recently sent document No. 7486/EVN-KH+TTĐ to the Ministry of Industry and Trade regarding the policy of importing wind power projects from the Lao People's Democratic Republic to the Quang Tri province area of Vietnam.

The wind power project has become operational in Huong Hoa mountainous district, Quang Tri province. (Illustrative photo: Nguyen Ly/TTXVN)

Specifically, EVN proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade appraise and submit to the Prime Minister the policy of importing electricity from the Truong Son wind power plant, and add more transmission lines to the plan for grid connection. The purchase price of electricity from this project is 6.95 US cents/kWh, equivalent to approximately 1,700 VND/kWh.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade announced that it has sent a document requesting feedback from ministries, sectors, and localities on the policy of purchasing wind power from the Truong Son wind power plant, with a capacity of 250 MW, in Bolikhamsai province (Laos) for Vietnam, as proposed by the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN).

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, this plant will become operational in the fourth quarter of 2025. The investor has committed to applying the same electricity price as the ceiling price for importing electricity from Laos to Vietnam for this type of wind power plant, which is 6.95 US cents/kWh (equivalent to approximately 1,700 VND/kWh).

"To import electricity from this plant to Vietnam, a new 75-kV double-circuit 220 kV transmission line will be built from the 220 kV substation of the Truong Son wind power plant, connecting to the 220 kV bay at the 220 kV Do Luong substation in Nghe An province, Vietnam," the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated.

To meet the project completion deadline of 2025, the project investor - Vietnam-Laos Energy Investment and Development Joint Stock Company - has sent a document to Vietnam Electricity Group proposing to sell electricity from this project to Vietnam. Accordingly, the investor proposes to invest in the entire grid connection project serving the connection of the Truong Son wind power plant to the Vietnamese power system using the project's own capital.

Previously, in a report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, EVN stated that the governments of Laos and Vietnam had agreed to import a minimum of approximately 1,000 MW of electricity from Laos to Vietnam by 2020. The import volume is projected to reach approximately 3,000 MW by 2025 and 5,000 MW by 2030. As of the end of October, the Prime Minister had approved the policy of importing electricity from sources in Laos with a total capacity of 2,689 MW.

"EVN has signed 19 power purchase agreements (PPAs) to purchase electricity from 26 power plants in Laos with a total capacity of 2,240 MW. Of these, 7 projects have commenced commercial operation with a total capacity of 806 MW, and it is expected that an additional 1,171 MW could be put into operation by 2025," the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated.

According to the report, the total power generation capacity in Laos for which Vietnam has been approved for electricity import by 2025 is only about 1,977 MW, much lower than the import scale stipulated in the memorandum of understanding.

At a meeting on electricity and coal trade cooperation between Laos and Vietnam, organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade last week, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien stated: Energy security, especially electricity and primary fuels (coal, gas) for electricity production, plays an extremely important role in the economy. Importing electricity and coal from foreign countries, including Laos, is therefore crucial.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien stated that he has directed EVN and the National Power Transmission Corporation to focus intensely on the construction and completion of the 500 kV circuit 3 transmission line from Quang Trach to Pho Noi on schedule, while also urgently completing the transmission line from Laos to Vietnam according to the approved schedule.

The Electricity Regulatory Authority is tasked with urgently finalizing relevant legal documents guiding the purchase and sale of electricity from foreign sources, especially projects from Laos, and working with the Electricity Department and EVN to develop a framework for electricity import prices from Laos in 2025, to be submitted to the Government in the first quarter of 2024.

Regarding coal imports, the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group and the Northeast Corporation have been tasked with proposing a special mechanism for coal imports, especially from Laos, under the intergovernmental agreement, to be submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision in December. These two entities also have a mechanism to propose to the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Lao Embassy in Vietnam, and Lao coal producers and suppliers to report to the Lao government to reduce coal export taxes and related taxes and fees to lower the cost of exporting coal to Vietnam.

According to Baotintuc.vn

Source