Hanoi (VNA) – Offshore wind power is not only a source of renewable energy, but also a foundation for building a modern marine industrial ecosystem and realising the goal of making Vietnam a strong maritime nation, Assoc. Prof. Dinh Van Chau, Rector of Electric Power University, told Vietnamplus E-newspaper.
Building a modern marine industry
Reporter: Vietnam is said to have great offshore wind potential. How should this 'energy treasure' be viewed so it becomes not only a power source but also a driver of new industries and value chains?
Assoc. Prof. Dinh Van Chau: The greatest strategic advantage of offshore wind is that it creates three layers of value. These are ensuring energy security, promoting the marine economy, and enhancing national industrial capacity. If we look only at installed capacity or electricity costs, we will overlook the core value of this sector.
Offshore wind diversifies supply and reduces dependence on imported fuels at a time when electricity demand is rising for industrialisation, data centres, electrified transport and green manufacturing. It is high‑density energy with good capacity factors, minimal land competition and the ability to be distributed across many sea areas. With rational planning, seasonal differences in wind across regions can complement each other and improve the system’s ability to guarantee output.
But offshore wind does not automatically ensure energy security. A large cluster tied into a weak grid or reliant on a single cable still risks widescale outages. Only when paired with appropriate transmission infrastructure, cable repair capacity, storage systems and restoration plans will offshore wind fully deliver.
It also helps the energy transition, supports net‑zero goals and can provide green power for export sectors facing tougher carbon rules. In the future, it could power green hydrogen, ammonia and synthetic fuels, green ports and coastal industrial zones, but we should not delay grid investment in the hope these markets will solve the issue.
Offshore wind is more than turbines. It can create a whole marine industrial ecosystem, from surveys and design to ports, vessels, substations, cable systems, O&M (Operation & Maintenance), finance, data services and training. Each link can become a high value‑added industry or industrial segment.
Therefore, offshore wind power should be viewed as a national industrial development programme, rather than merely a collection of individual power-generation projects.
Pioneer projects should deliver power reliably while building reusable capabilities, standard designs, trained teams, test facilities and domestic suppliers, so Vietnamese firms can join regional supply chains.
This approach aligns with Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW on Vietnam’s Sustainable Marine Economic Development Strategy, and Resolution No. 70-NQ/TW on ensuring national energy security. It also supports Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation.
Identifying development zones and creating long-term confidence
Reporter: Many believe Vietnam’s offshore wind potential is huge but remains underdeveloped. What are the core bottlenecks that should be prioritised for removal to build investor confidence and develop a transparent, stable market?
Assoc. Prof. Dinh Van Chau: First of all, we need to properly understand the concept of “potential.” The often-quoted 600 GW is technical potential, not capacity ready for immediate investment.
For an offshore wind project to become operational, it must go through numerous stages, including marine spatial planning, resource and geotechnical surveys, environmental assessment, investor selection, power purchase agreements, financing, supply chain preparation, construction and grid connection. If any link is missing, the project can be delayed.
Current bottlenecks include institutional frameworks and procedures that are out of synch. Investors need a clear, end-to-end roadmap, from survey rights and data use, sea allocation and environmental permits to pricing, power purchase agreements (PPAs) and grid connection, with transparent timelines and accountable agencies.
Resource planning is not tightly integrated with transmission planning. Cable corridors, landing points, substation land, and grid investment schedules must be defined to attract long-term capital. Revenue structures and risk allocation are also inadequate. Offshore wind requires large up-front investments, has long lead time, and faces currency and interest rate risks. Investors and lenders need contractual frameworks that specify responsibilities for delayed grid upgrades, curtailment, policy changes, and force majeure.
The domestic supply chain and system integration capacity remain limited. Vietnam needs to build simulation, testing and integration capabilities. Data and marine space management should be organised as shared infrastructure: geological, oceanographic, fisheries and environmental data must be on unified platforms with transparent sharing rules.
To build long-term confidence, priority actions include designating development zones, cable corridors and landing points. Publishing investor selection roadmaps, finalising pricing and PPA mechanisms, and alignment with resource and grid planning are also important. Other priorities include issuing technical standards for offshore wind and setting up a functional one-stop office with clear responsibility for project implementation.
Infrastructure must come first to unlock resources
Reporter: Should Vietnam shift from each project connecting individually to coordinated planning by clusters, shared collection hubs and common transmission corridors, and what principles should be set early to avoid fragmented investment and wasted infrastructure?
Assoc. Prof. Dinh Van Chau: Infrastructure should lead, but 'lead' means planning first. Offshore wind infrastructure must start with marine spatial plans, surveys, offshore grid architecture, cable corridors, landing points, connection hubs and onshore transmission plans. These should be completed before projects finalise designs and procurement.
Physical large-scale investment should match project readiness and real demand to avoid premature spending. At the start, it may be fine for each project to build its own cable and connection plan, but as deployment reaches tens of gigawatts, this creates more landing points, overlapping corridors, suboptimal grid operation and higher costs.
Vietnam should transition to coordinated planning of offshore wind clusters with shared collection centres, common cable corridors and landing points linked to the onshore 500kV transmission backbone. In the early stages, point-to-point transmission links may be used, but they should be designed for easy expansion so they can gradually evolve into a modern transmission network as the market grows.
Planning must have a 30–50 year vision and guarantee expandability. A single empowered authority should oversee offshore grid architecture to ensure coordination across power planning, marine spatial planning, local authorities and other sectors.
Resource, grid, port, logistics and load centre planning must be developed on a common scenario and assessed from a whole system perspective. System security standards, device interoperability, responsibility allocation and cost sharing must be set from the start.
Building an integrated development ecosystem
Reporter: From international experience and Vietnam’s realities, what breakthrough package of measures is needed for offshore wind to become a pillar of the country’s energy and marine economy strategy?
Assoc. Prof. Dinh Van Chau: International experience shows that successful countries do not pursue isolated projects. They establish an integrated deployment ecosystem, including marine spatial planning, transmission infrastructure, policy frameworks, supply chains, technology, workforce development and unified governance. Vietnam should adopt the same approach.
We must finalise marine spatial planning aligned with an offshore grid architecture. That requires clearly defining priority development zones, cable corridors, landing points, collection hubs and transmission connection nodes.
It is necessary to create robust investor selection processes and power purchase agreements that will unlock capital. These mechanisms must ensure transparent developer selection, equitable risk allocation and confidence for long-term financiers.
The next priority is to mobilise private capital at large scale, using green finance, public-private partnerships and international funding, while the State focuses its investment on strategic infrastructure, high-quality data, technical standards and areas beyond what private actors can immediately deliver.
Over the long term, it is necessary to implement a national programme on developing domestic technology and supply chains with priority given to segments where Vietnam can realistically compete, such as offshore structures, substations and export cables, system integration, data and digital technologies, and engineering services. Data and human resources should be strategic infrastructure, with systematic investment in training engineers and specialists, and in testing and certification facilities for the offshore wind sector.
If one opening move is needed, select one or two pilot offshore wind clusters within 24 months and complete all conditions for investment decisions. A successful pioneer project will deliver experience, standards, data and governance models to scale up.
Vietnam should shift from ‘managing potential’ to ‘managing a portfolio of implementable projects'. Success will be measured by projects with full infrastructure, financing, contracts and supply chains ready to operate on schedule. Then offshore wind can become a pillar of energy security, the marine economy and national development.
Reporter: Thank you very much!
