Page 13 - AsiaElec Week 22 2021

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as intermittent energy supply from wind Vietnam’s latest power electricity generating capacity to meet the
and solar, which needs storage to act as a country’s growing electricity needs. With its
frequency regulator. development plan focuses strong emphasis on renewables, the draft PDP
ABB has provided a packaged BESS 8 departs significantly from previous plans,
solution to strengthen the reliability and on expanding renewable which relied heavily on hydropower, coal, and
stability of the local grid on Luzon, the largest natural gas sources.
and most populous island in the archipelago, sources As of 2020, solar and wind capacity in
and the island of Visayas. Both these fast- Vietnam was 16.6 gigawatts (GW) and 0.6
developing regions will benefit from BESS as In February 2021, the government of Vietnam GW, respectively. Under the draft PDP 8,
part of the government’s ‘Build, build, build’ released a draft of the country’s latest national Vietnam plans to increase solar capacity to
programme that aims to establish a ‘golden power development plan, Power Development 18.6 GW and wind capacity to 18.0 GW by
age of infrastructure’ to boost industry and Plan 8 (PDP 8), for 2021 to 2030. The draft 2030.
tourism. PDP 8 expands wind and solar capacity Vietnam’s underdeveloped grid hampers
ABB and increases their shares of the country’s these capacity additions. The country
generation mix. The draft PDP 8 also needs new transmission and distribution
prioritises enhancing grid infrastructure to infrastructure to accommodate capacity
WIND ensure stable operation with a higher share of additions and to transmit electricity to where
renewables. it’s needed. The government recently adopted
China’s MingYang unveils because coal-fired power plants have been grid development.
Vietnam increasingly relies on coal imports new legislation that improves and prioritises
country’s first floating used to meet rapidly increasing electricity draft PDP 8. Grid priorities include building
Grid development is also a priority in the
demand; more than half of Vietnam’s
offshore wind turbine electricity generation came from coal in more high-voltage transmission lines and
expanding grid infrastructure, which would
2020. The country also relies significantly on
Chinese wind turbine manufacturer hydroelectric generation and is home to a help ease grid congestion and integrate
MingYang Smart Energy has launched the number of large rivers, including the Mekong. renewables.
first floating offshore wind tower and turbine However, hydro’s reliability is affected by Some of the country’s transmission lines
ever built in China, a 5.5MW turbine. periodic droughts and water shortages. Non- are operating at full load or are overloaded,
MingYang Smart Energy revealed the hydro renewable sources such as wind and especially in the region where solar capacity
achievement in a LinkedIn post , announcing solar made up 5% of Vietnam’s electricity is concentrated. Electricity producers have
that the company’s MySE5.5MW typhoon- generation in 2020. reduced generation from renewables because
resistant floating wind turbine had begun Expanding non-hydro renewable capacity of grid limitations. Despite solar capacity in
rolling off its production line and a prototype will likely help Vietnam rely less on coal, Vietnam increasing significantly in 2020, the
had been constructed at MingYang’s Yangjiang reduce carbon emissions, and increase country plans to reduce its renewable energy
manufacturing facility in the south of China.
The landmark achievement marks the first
time a Chinese-made floating wind turbine
prototype has been successfully installed.
Designed to meet the harsh environments
common for the South China Sea region,
including typhoons and extreme waves, the
demonstration MySE5.5MW floating turbine
will now be towed out to the site of China
Three Gorges (CTG) 400 MW Yangxi Shapa
III offshore wind farm.
MingYang has already been contracted
to supply 31 of its ySE6.45-180 fixed-bottom
wind turbines for the project, and is using
its existing partnership to demonstrate the
viability of its semi-submersible floating
foundation and floating turbine.
The first 300 MW phase began delivering
power at the end of November 2019, while
phases 2 through 5 all entered construction
simultaneously at the end of February 2020
China Three Gorges’ Yangxi Shapa offshore
wind farm is divided into five phases of an
eventual 1.7GW capacity.

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Week 22 02•June•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P13