The latest draft National Power Development Plan for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2045 (PDP VIII) has made drastic reduction of CO2 emissions with no new coal-fired power plants to be built in the planning period, and with the switch from coal and natural gas to biomass, ammonia, and hydrogen, according to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An. 

In his report at a virtual conference with localities on April 16 on the PDP VIII, the Deputy Minister said that compared with previous drafts, the latest one also makes remarkable changes to the structure of energy sources and the designation of power development space, which helps reduce social investment capital and save 13 billion USD for development of power transmission lines. 

The total capacity of power generation sources is expected to reach 146,000 MW by 2030, down about 35,000 MW compared to the version submitted on March 26, 2021. The peak capacity in 2030 is estimated at about 93,000 MW. 

Being the first national sector planning to be implemented in accordance with provisions of the Law on Planning in 2017, the PDP VIII has continued to be revised, supplemented, and updated many times since the first draft was submitted to the Prime Minister in March 2021. 

In particular, the PM has instructed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to revise the draft based on Vietnam's commitment to emission reduction at the COP26 and requirements for the development of green and circular economy.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has held nearly 30 meetings and working sessions with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, relevant ministries, sectors, agencies; experts and scientists on the plan. 

Addressing the conference, Deputy PM Thanh said the latest draft PDP VIII has addressed shortcomings of the PDP VII, the revised PDP VII, and the draft PDP VIII submitted in March 2021.

He underlined that the draft has outlined a roadmap to cut coal-fired electricity to just 9.6 percent of total capacity by 2045, while the share of wind and solar power is raised to 50.7 percent, ensuring Vietnam's commitments on energy transformation. 

The Deputy PM requested the Ministry of Industry and Trade to urgently study opinions to finalize the draft PDP VIII for approval by the State Appraisal Council before submitting it to the Prime Minister for adoption in April 2022./.