The Appraisal Council approved the draft of Power Development Planning VIII

The appraisal council listened to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An presenting the appraisal report (Photo: VGP/Duc Tuan).

The draft PDP VIII was submitted to the Prime Minister (PM) by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) for the first time in March 26, 2021.

After a thorough analysis and evaluation of a number of inadequate problems in the structure of the power plants, mechanisms, policies, and implementing solutions, the Government, PM focused on the direction to finalize PDP VIII by overcoming the inadequate problems and sticking closely to the Vietnam commitments in COP 26 to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

In the progress of implementing the PDP VIII Draft, DPM Le Van Thanh presided over 20 meetings for suggesting and finalizing the project; the Standing Government also made conclusions on Draft PDP VIII with many important directions.

At the meeting, Dr. Ngo Tuan Kiet, the Director of Energy Institute of Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology said: “PDP VIII is developed very carefully with 6 alternatives. In alternative April 2022 includes two new scenarios with a scenario of the energy transition for meeting the demand for carbon emission reduction. This is a breakthrough scenario with a careful calculation of full using primary energy sources in Vietnam. Another new scenario is that it will happen an electricity shortage due to the same power plants behind schedule, how to manage the electricity system? It is a new regulatory, competent with a viewpoint that PDP VIII is open to planning updating, and adjusting the data based on real socio-economic development in each period,… PDP VIII updated data of on-shore and off-shore wind power projects but it must need to make separate surveys and assessments and not update the digitals of the international organizations.

The Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Hoang Luong, a member of the Appraisal Council assessed that updating the commitments of PM in COP26 in Draft PDP VIII, opens an opportunity for wind power, particularly for developing offshore wind power projects. However, Vietnam needs to make national planning for the sea space for managing, exploiting and using this space up to 2045 to develop a sustainable sea economy and ocean energy.

MOIT Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized: The Government and PM had the throughout directions in the progress of finalizing PDP VIII on the principle to put the national interests first, overcoming shortcomings and limitations of the previous PDPs and harmoniously bringing into play the potentials, advantages of the localities in the whole common balance. The PDP VIII plays attention to developing renewable energy for replacing the coal power plants; do not develop a trans-regional power transmission grid up to 2030 and opens the new fuels like hydrogen, ammoniac…After the exchanges and discussion, the Appraisal Council voted to pass PDP VIII with an accepted majority.

At the end of the meeting, DPM Le Van Thanh assigned MOIT, relevant ministries, and agencies to accept the opinions of the Appraisal Council and finalize the draft PDP VIII before submitting it to PM for approval in May 2022.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested absolutely not to integrate mechanisms and policies in the draft PDP VIII.

Assigning the tasks to ministries and agencies must be based on the functions and tasks of state management and strictly complied with the provisions of laws.

"Absolutely not turn PDP into a group of mechanisms and policies. The Ministries: Industry and Trade, Justice, Government Office carefully review the draft PDP VIII, the draft Decision of PM for approving PDP VIII with no integrating any mechanisms and policies outside the current provisions of the law," emphasized the Deputy Prime Minister.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted MOIT to establish a plan for organizing PDP VIII implementation by a roadmap.