Vietnam sets ambitious nuclear power goals to help fuel growth

VIETNAM formally approved a nuclear power development plan with the aim of having a reactor online in the next decade, an ambitious strategy to lift energy security and meet aggressive economic growth targets.

The country launched a regulatory framework, and plans to establish human resources and research infrastructure needed to develop atomic energy by 2030, according to a statement on a government website.

The trade ministry proposed having at least one nuclear power plant operational between 2031 and 2035, under draft revisions to the Power Development Plan VIII, published on its website this week for consultation. The reworked version of PDP8 is due to be put forward for approval by Feb 28.

Vietnam is the latest country to explore nuclear power, which offers around-the-clock carbon-free electricity and can help reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. Still, utilities from France to the US have struggled to build reactors on time and budget, and Vietnam’s ambitions may fail to materialise.

While Vietnam has close ties with Russia, for whom nuclear energy can be a means of creating lasting links, talks with foreign partners are due to take place this month as Vietnam evaluates its options.

The revised draft outlines scenarios for power development with the Ninh Thuan I nuclear power plant with two reactors at 1,200 megawatts each, expected to run in 2031 to 2035, while the Ninh Thuan II plant, also with two reactors, is forecast to be operational in 2036 to 2040 at the latest.

State-owned utility EVN and oil and gas firm PetroVietnam have been assigned as the investors for the two Ninh Thuan plants in central Vietnam, with a project completion deadline of Dec 31, 2031, the government said in the statement.

The resumption of the Ninh Thuan projects was confirmed in November after the plants were put on hiatus in 2016 due to high construction costs and safety concerns. They were initially planned to be built with Russian and Japanese partners. BLOOMBERG