Vietnam Also Declares 'Nuclear Power U-Turn'... Due to Power Shortage

Vietnam, facing a power shortage, has declared a 'nuclear power U-turn.' It has decided to include the construction of nuclear power plants, which was previously completely abandoned, in its national policy.

According to major foreign media on the 22nd (local time), Nguyen Hong Dien, Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, announced at the National Assembly the day before that nuclear energy and hydrogen energy would be added to the national strategic development plan (PDP8). Minister Dien explained, "We are pushing for revisions to fully harness the country's energy-related potential and to continue taking the lead in energy supply."

The current national power development plan, approved in May last year, aims to increase Vietnam's total nationwide power generation capacity from 80GW (gigawatts) as of the end of last year to over 150GW by 2030. However, there were considerable concerns that the existing goals to reinforce power through offshore wind and liquefied natural gas (LNG) would be difficult to achieve due to regulatory and price barriers.

Vietnam, which relies mostly on hydro and thermal power generation, has been experiencing power shortages. Last summer, some areas suffered power outages due to insufficient power supply amid heatwaves and droughts, causing factory operations to halt and resulting in damages.

Consequently, there had been growing speculation that the Vietnamese government would reconsider introducing nuclear power, which can simultaneously ensure energy security and reduce carbon emissions. According to foreign media, the Vietnamese government plans to increase annual power generation capacity by 12-15% to guarantee national energy security and support an annual economic growth rate of 7%.

Specifically, the Vietnamese government is also considering the introduction of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). SMRs have the advantage of significantly reducing construction time and costs compared to conventional nuclear power plants because the modules are prefabricated in factories and then assembled. A Vietnamese government official told foreign media, "We have discussed the possibility of support for introducing modern SMRs with countries such as South Korea, Russia, and Canada."

Previously, Vietnam approved a plan in 2009 to develop two nuclear reactors and set a goal to build a total of 14 nuclear reactors by 2030. However, following safety concerns after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, the plan was abandoned in 2016.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.