Although Vietnam has long had favorable wind patterns and
supporting geography, the serious development of wind power has
only recently begun. The industry holds great promise. This article
discusses Vietnam's policy to develop commercial wind
power.
Factors driving the development of wind
power. Many factors are driving the development of
wind power. First, Vietnam will face a severe shortage of
energy in the near future--the accessible sources of fossil fuels
(oil, gas and coal) are limited, and the exploitation of this
traditional energy in Vietnam will continue to be more difficult
and costly. Second, Vietnam mainly relies on coal-fired
power plants that require a substantial amount of investment
capital. Local banks are unable to finance large-scale coal fired
projects and foreign banks appear to be less and less willing to
finance coal-fired power plants due to environmental and other
concerns. It is likely that large-scale coal power plants in
particular will
