Prime Minister decides on first 6,000 MW of offshore wind power, no auction required

DNVN - In the 2026-2030 period, the Prime Minister will decide on investment policies and approve investors for the first 6,000 MW of offshore wind power without applying auction and bidding mechanisms. This is an important pilot mechanism to ensure security - defense and prudence for this new field.

Cautiously piloting the new energy "gold mine"

On the afternoon of December 8, at the 10th Session of the 15th National Assembly, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien explained and clarified the opinions of National Assembly deputies on the draft Resolution on piloting mechanisms and policies for national energy development in the 2026-2030 period.

Explaining the issue that many delegates were interested in, which was the authority and mechanism for offshore wind power, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that, based on the opinions on security - defense and local capacity, the draft Resolution has been revised in the direction of focusing on the Government in the first stage.

Specifically, for the 6,000 MW capacity developed in the 2026 - 2030 period: The Prime Minister will decide on the investment policy and approve the investor. The land use rights auction mechanism or investor selection bidding mechanism will not be applied to this capacity.

For the remaining capacity, about 11,000 MW is expected to be developed by 2035 according to the adjusted Power Plan VIII. The implementation will comply with current regulations and be assigned to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for consideration and decision.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien reported and explained the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on the mechanism and policy for national energy development in the 2026-2030 period.

Explaining this mechanism, the Commander of the Industry and Trade sector emphasized that although Vietnam has great potential with 3,000 km of coastline, this is a completely new field, closely linked to national security.

"The Government's viewpoint is to be extremely cautious: exploiting potential and advantages while implementing step by step to gain experience, avoiding the situation of hot development and having to adjust, causing consequences," the Minister affirmed.

Currently, the price framework for offshore wind power has been issued since June 2025, clearly defining 3 regions, creating an initial legal basis for investors.

Untangling bottlenecks and avoiding overlapping laws

Regarding the draft Resolution as a whole, the Minister said that the majority of National Assembly delegates (40 opinions in groups, 13 opinions in the hall) agreed on the necessity of promulgating it to concretize Resolution 70 of the Politburo and remove bottlenecks for the energy sector, towards the goal of Net Zero by 2050.

To ensure the consistency of the legal system, the drafting agency has reviewed and removed duplicate content with current laws or draft laws being amended.

The content of national reserves of petroleum is implemented according to the Law on National Reserves. The content of the Government guarantee for NSMO will be integrated into the Law on Public Debt Management (amended). Regarding the mechanism for handling slow-progressing projects, it is implemented according to the Land Law, Investment Law and Electricity Law.

The name of the Resolution was also finalized as: "Resolution of the National Assembly on the mechanism and policy for national energy development in the period 2026 - 2030".

A new point in the draft is the stronger decentralization to the Government in highly flexible contents such as: corporate financial capacity, offshore wind power project dossiers, small modular nuclear power mechanism... to shorten processing time.

Regarding power planning, the draft allows "updating" the planning to meet practical needs without having to go through the complicated adjustment process under the Planning Law, provided that it does not change major targets and does not increase the total installed capacity.

Regarding the Direct Power Purchase Agreement (DPPA), taking into account delegates' opinions, the draft has expanded the scope of application to eligible electricity retailers, not just limited to large customers, to encourage a competitive electricity market.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien pledged that the Government will establish a strict control mechanism to avoid the risk of "requesting and giving". After the Resolution expires (5 years), all activities will return to being implemented in accordance with current legal regulations.

Moonlight

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/kinh-te/thu-tuong-quyet-dinh-6-000-mw-dien-gio-ngoai-khoi-dau-tien-khong-ap-dung-dau-gia/20251209091121005