Norwegian company Equinor withdraws from Vietnamese offshore wind market

The move is part of the company’s efforts to re-prioritize its portfolio amid ongoing political upheaval in the Southeast Asian country and uncertainty over the company’s path forward.

Equinor has decided to end its business development in Vietnam and close its offshore wind-focused office in Hanoi, its spokesman said. Reuters Agency.

The company has already withdrawn from more than a dozen fossil fuel projects to focus on renewable energy and low-emission systems.

Despite their great potential, offshore wind projects in Vietnam face obstacles resulting from legal uncertainties and ambiguities.

Last year, Danish offshore wind giant Ørsted A/S also put its multi-gigawatt plans to build offshore wind farms in Vietnam on hold due to regulatory challenges.

Vietnam has not yet initiated any real offshore wind projects and has only developed tidal projects located close to shore. Therefore, achieving the target of installing 6 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 is a major challenge, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

Actions for offshore wind energy must be taken quickly Vietnam’s ambition to achieve 6GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 is looking increasingly unrealistic, with insufficient action being taken on legal issues and developer support.

MoIT report addresses concerns over offshore wind projects Despite the ambitious goals set out in the Energy Development Plan VIII, no offshore wind energy project has yet been approved or allocated to investors.

Progress needed in offshore wind energy The Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed selecting two state-owned energy companies or military units to develop offshore wind projects, even though the sector still faces complex processes.