physics

Renewable energy in Vietnam

Renewable energy in Vietnam is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Renewable energy in Vietnam rather than just read about it. In short: Vietnam utilizes four main sources of renewable energy: hydroelectricity, wind power, solar power and biomass. At the end of 2018, hydropower was the largest source of renewable energy, contributing about 40% to the total national electricity capacity.

Key takeaways

Renewable energy in Vietnam belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Renewable energy in Vietnam to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Renewable energy in Vietnam from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Vietnam utilizes four main sources of renewable energy: hydroelectricity, wind power, solar power and biomass. At the end of 2018, hydropower was the largest source of renewable energy, contributing about 40% to the total national electricity capacity. In 2020, wind and solar had a combined share of 10% of the country's electrical generation, already meeting the government's 2030 goal, suggesting future displacement of growth of coal capacity. By the end of 2020, the total installed capacity of solar and wind power had reached over 17 GW. Over 25% of total power capacity is from variable renewable energy sources (wind, solar). The commercial biomass electricity generation is currently slow and limited to valorizing bagasse only, but the stream of forest products, agricultural and municipal waste is increasing. The government is studying a renewable portfolio standard that could promote this energy source. While wind and solar investment remains attractive in Vietnam, existing capacity is under-utilized due to lack of electric transmission capacity and lack of a replacement for the expired feed-in tariff. The lead-up to the expiration of the initial solar feed-in tariff (FIT) of US$93.5/MWh saw a large increase in Vietnam's installed capacity of solar photovoltaic (PV), from 86 MW in 2018 to about 4.5 GW by the end of June 2019. The number reached about 16.5 GW as of the end of 2020. This represents an annualized installation rate of about 90 W per capita per annum, placing Vietnam among world leaders. As of 2019, Vietnam has the highest installed capacity in Southeast Asia. In 2020, there are 102 solar power plants operating in the country with a total capacity of 6.3 GW. As of 2021, Vietnam has become one of the most successful ASEAN countries in attracting investment in renewable energy and promoting various types of renewables within the country. Vietnam has the largest offshore wind power potential amount ASEAN countries, with over 470 GW technical potential within 200 km of the coast. This is equivalent to about 6 times the country's total installed capacity of any energy source as of 2022. This offers opportunities for meeting domestic demand as well as exporting to other countries such as Singapore.

Hydropower

Since 1975, Vietnam has developed several hydropower projects, including: Son La Hydropower (2400 MW), Lai Chau Hydropower (1200 MW) and Thuy Huoi Quang electricity (560 MW). By the end of 2018, the country had 818 hydropower projects with a total installed capacity of 23,182 MW and 285 small hydropower plants with a total capacity of about 3,322 MW. According to the Revised National Power Development Master Plan for the 2011-2020 Period with the Vision to 2030 (also called PDP 7A/ PDP 7 revised):

"Total capacity of hydropower sources (including small and medium hydroelectricity, pumped-storage hydropower) is about 21,600 MW by 2020, about 24,600 MW by 2025 (pumped-storage hydropower is 1,200 MW) and about 27,800 MW by 2030 (pumped-storage hydropower is 2,400 MW). Electricity production from hydropower sources accounts for about 29.5% in 2020, about 20.5% in 2025 and about 15.5% in 2030." "By 2020, the total capacity of power plants will be about 60,000 MW, of which large and medium hydroelectricity and pumped-storage hydropower will be about 30.1%. By 2025, the total capacity will be about 96,500 MW and 49.3% of which will belong to hydropower. By 2030, hydroelectricity will account for 16.9% of the 129,500 MW of total capacity."

Hydropower resources Vietnam has an exploitable hydropower capacity of about 25-38 GW. 60% of this capacity is concentrated in the north of the country, 27% in the center and 13% in the south. Almost all large hydropower projects with a capacity of over 100 MW have been developed. The country has over 1,000 identified locations for small hydropower plants, ranging from 100 kW to 30 MW, with a total capacity of over 7,000 MW. These locations are concentrated mainly in the northern mountains, the South Central Coast and the Central Highlands.

Environmental impact In October 2018, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the provincial People's Committees cancelled 474 hydropower projects and 213 potential sites, recognizing that their impact on the environment and society failed to meet the expected benefits in terms of flood control, irrigation and power generation. The majority of these removed projects were located in the mountainous and midland provinces of the North, Central Highlands and Central Coastal provinces, and implemented by private enterprises. The decision to cancel about half of the projects in the pipeline was motivated by a series of incident with small and medium hydropower, especially in the rainy season. It is a sign that the incentive mechanisms and policies for hydropower have been too efficient at attracting developers. They did not have the built-in barriers to filter out projects with unacceptable risks. The negative outcomes of hydropower development in Vietnam include:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Renewable energy in Vietnam

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Renewable energy in Vietnam claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Renewable energy in Vietnam before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Renewable energy in Vietnam ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Renewable energy in Vietnam

In research: Renewable energy in Vietnam appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Renewable energy in Vietnam in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Renewable energy in Vietnam is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Renewable energy in Vietnam, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Renewable energy in Vietnam outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Renewable energy in Vietnam in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Renewable energy in Vietnam means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Renewable energy in Vietnam out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Renewable energy in Vietnam in simple terms?

Why does Renewable energy in Vietnam matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Renewable energy in Vietnam?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Renewable energy in Vietnam.