Vietnam weighs resuming nuclear power development plans

By Khanh Vu

HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam is considering resuming plans to develop nuclear power to ensure national energy security and to support economic growth, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters.

The Southeast Asian country, a regional industrial hub heavily reliant on coal for power generation, is also seeking to boost its cleaner energy production to meet its net zero target by 2050.

“The Ministry of Industry and Trade is to conduct research on the nuclear power development experience of other countries and make a proposal to develop nuclear power in Vietnam,” according to the document, which was dated Thursday.

The ministry did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The document said Vietnam has a target of raising its power generation capacity by 12%-15% a year to “ensure national energy security… and support an annual economic growth of 7%.”

The nuclear power development proposal will be submitted to the Politburo, the country’s most powerful decision-making body, for review, according to the document, although no time frame was provided.

In 2009, Vietnam approved plans to develop its first two nuclear power plants, but the plans were shelved in 2016 following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan and due to budget constraints.

The proposed nuclear plants, with a combined capacity of 4 gigawatts (GW), were planned to be built by Russia’s Rosatom and Japan Atomic Power Co in the central province of Ninh Thuan.

The country has over the recent years been seeking to develop cleaner energy but its offshore wind and LNG development targets are at risk due to regulatory and pricing hurdles.

Officials said Vietnam has for years been considering resuming its nuclear power option and has discussed possible support from Russian, South Korea, Canada and others on small reactors.

Nuclear power was not mentioned in the country’s long-awaited master power development plan that was approved in May last year. The plan, known as PDP8, would raise the country’s total installed power generation capacity to over 150 GW by 2030 from over 80 GW at the end of last year.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is now seeking opinions to update the PDP8, state media reported earlier this month.

The government office document said relevant ministries and agencies had also been told to remove hurdles facing offshore wind and gas-fired power development, without elaborating.