Proactively developing energy infrastructure - Driving force for attracting investment and sustainable development

Nam Dinh Electricity Company overhauls 110kV My Xa transformer (Nam Dinh city).

Strategic steps according to Resolution 55-NQ/TW

Resolution No. 55-NQ/TW sets the goals: Ensuring energy security and sustainable development. Providing stable, high-quality, and reasonably priced energy to promote socio-economic growth, improve people's lives, and protect the environment. Developing a synchronous, intelligent energy sector that reaches ASEAN's advanced level. Building a competitive, transparent, and efficient energy market in the direction of a market economy. Using resources effectively, combining reasonable import and export, and practicing thorough energy saving. Proactively producing energy equipment, modernizing the transmission and distribution grid.

Immediately after Resolution No. 55-NQ/TW was issued, the Standing Committee of Nam Dinh Provincial Party Committee issued Plan No. 92-KH/TU dated August 21, 2020 on studying, disseminating, propagating and implementing the Resolution. Organized a conference of key officials to study, disseminate and develop Action Program No. 40-CTr/TU dated August 25, 2020 of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee to specify tasks and solutions for implementation throughout the province. The dissemination of the Resolution was seriously implemented from the provincial to grassroots levels, helping cadres and party members deeply understand the viewpoints, goals and solutions for national energy development. Departments, branches, sectors and localities have also developed specific action plans to implement the resolution and proactively advised the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee to develop and issue many important directive documents, contributing to creating a legal corridor to attract investment and develop energy infrastructure in the area such as: Action Program No. 40-CTr/TU to implement Resolution 55-NQ/TW; Document No. 1061/UBND-VPS dated December 31, 2021 of the Provincial People's Committee directing localities to implement the resolution; Notice No. 666-TB/TU on the investment policy of the waste-to-energy plant project in My Thanh commune, My Loc district; Notice No. 359-TB/TU and documents related to survey and assessment of offshore wind potential in Giao Thuy, Hai Hau, Nghia Hung districts; Notice No. 446-TB/TU on survey and investment research for the Nam Dinh LNG Power Plant.

In the planning work of the province, the key industries have been selected including: textiles, mechanical engineering and shipbuilding, chemical - pharmaceutical - plastics, electricity production and distribution, wood - paper - forestry processing, food - beverage production, construction materials and agricultural - aquatic product processing; thereby orienting the development of appropriate energy infrastructure. The province has developed and adjusted many important plans related to investment in energy infrastructure development, including: Detailed planning of medium and low voltage power grid according to Decision No. 1474/QD-UBND dated July 18, 2016. Adjusting the progress of implementing the planning of some 110kV power grid items according to Document No. 9983/BCT-DL dated December 26, 2019 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Proactively include land use requirements of power projects in land use planning and plans, ensuring that the conversion of rice fields, protective forest lands, and special-use forest lands is carried out in accordance with the law; simplify administrative procedures related to land, remove obstacles in compensation and site clearance; guide investors to complete land procedures quickly and in accordance with regulations... to speed up the progress of power projects, especially power source systems, power lines, and transformer stations.

After 5 years of implementing Resolution No. 55-NQ/TW, remarkable results have been achieved. The province is investing heavily in the grid system in the direction of interconnection, not only ensuring the electricity demand in the province but also contributing significantly to the stability and development of the power system in the Northern region. Specifically: The 500kV system includes 55km of lines, connecting to the regional grid through two projects: 500kV Nam Dinh I Thermal Power Plant - Thanh Hoa and 500kV Nam Dinh I Thermal Power Plant - Pho Noi. The 220kV system with 160km of lines and 2 large transformer stations (Nam Dinh E3.7 and Truc Ninh E3.20), ensures connection to the Ninh Binh and Thai Binh grids. The 110kV power grid connecting to neighboring provinces has a total length of 404.4km, including 20 transformer stations and a total installed capacity of 1,371.5MVA connecting the intra-provincial circuit and connecting to the provinces of Ha Nam, Ninh Binh, Thai Binh, improving the reliability of the system. In addition, the medium and low voltage power grid covers the entire province with a medium voltage system of 2,819.6km long, of which the 22kV line accounts for 85%; the low voltage system has a total length of 15,546.1km, ensuring 100% power supply in the province. The systematic investment in the power grid system helps Nam Dinh not only ensure a stable supply but also create a competitive advantage in attracting investment, especially in key industries such as steel production, high technology, and agricultural processing.

Promoting sustainable energy development

In addition to upgrading the power grid, Nam Dinh also focuses on investing in developing clean energy sources, contributing to environmental protection and moving towards a green economy. In the province, the Greenity Nam Dinh Waste-to-Energy Plant project (capacity of 15MW, total investment of VND 1,437 billion) is currently under construction and is expected to come into operation in 2025, helping to solve the problem of urban waste and create an environmentally friendly power source. Regarding renewable energy, currently, the solar power capacity connected to the provincial grid is 15.41MW (capacity scale under 1MW), all of which are rooftop solar power connected to the medium and low voltage grid, most of which belong to customers' assets. In addition, in the province, there are many livestock farms using biogas systems as fuel.

In the period of 2025-2030, the Electricity sector will continue to invest in the construction of 220kV power grid projects including: Hai Hau 220kV transformer station (under construction, expected to be energized in 2025), Nam Dinh 2 220kV transformer station, Nghia Hung 220kV transformer station. Moreover, Nam Dinh is considered a province with great potential for developing many energy sources. Therefore, the locality is gradually building and developing the province's strengths in power sources, especially wind power and solar power, contributing to the effective exploitation of energy resources in the area, ensuring the environment in line with the country's overall development plan. Notably, in the draft report on the National Marine Spatial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045, Nam Dinh is one of the provinces prioritized for wind power development (DDG2: offshore Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa with an area of ​​142,809 hectares).

The Provincial People's Committee has also agreed in principle to allow a number of enterprises to conduct research, survey, and evaluate offshore wind potential such as AMI ACRENEW ABLES Joint Stock Company, Hoang Son Construction Energy Investment Joint Stock Company, and Xuan Thien Group. In particular, it is proposed to add to the National Power Development Plan a series of large-scale power projects applying modern technology such as: Offshore wind power project with a total capacity of 12,000MW, deployed in the sea areas of Hai Hau, Nghia Hung, Giao Thuy districts, which is being promoted for development in 4 phases (phase 1 from 2026 to 2030: 2,000MW; phase 2 from 2030 to 2035: 3,000MW; phase 3 from 2035 to 2040: 3,500MW; phase 4 from 2040 to 2050: 3,500MW); the project will build a 220kV offshore transformer station and a 220kV double-circuit line, connected to the 500kV Nam Dinh 2 transformer station, ensuring stable power supply for industrial parks and production needs. Besides wind power, Nam Dinh also proposed to invest in two large-scale LNG power plants: Nam Dinh 1 LNG Power Plant in Nghia Hung district, directly connected to Nam Dinh 2 500kV station, with a capacity of 4,800MW, divided into 3 phases (phase 1: 800MW will be operational in 2028; phase 2: 1,600MW will be operational in 2030; phase 3: 2,400MW will be operational in 2035). The Nam Dinh 2 LNG Power Plant in Rang Dong Industrial Park is connected according to the plan to build a new 20km long 500kV double-circuit line from the plant to the Nam Dinh 500kV transformer station, about 20km long, with a capacity of 6,000MW, divided into 2 phases (phase 1: 3,000MW will be operational in 2030; phase 2: 3,000MW will be operational in 2031-2050). At the same time, the province proposed to build the Nam Dinh 2 500kV transformer station with a capacity of (4x900)MVA, playing a key role in supplying electricity to the Ninh Co Economic Zone, especially steel production projects. In addition, the 20km long 500kV double-circuit line connecting to the Nam Dinh 500kV station will ensure a stable and sustainable power transmission system. Nam Dinh also proposed to add to the detailed planning of the seaport group in the Cua Day area, building a liquid and gas port that can receive ships of up to 150 thousand tons; this project plays an important role in receiving fuel for gas power plants in Nghia Hung, contributing to ensuring long-term LNG supply.

With strategic steps in developing energy infrastructure, Nam Dinh not only meets the electricity demand for production but also positions itself as a new energy center of the region, creating a driving force to attract investment, promote economic growth and improve the quality of life for the people.

Article and photos: Thanh Thuy

Source: https://baonamdinh.vn/kinh-te/202503/chu-dong-phat-trien-ha-tang-nang-luong-dong-luc-thu-hut-dau-tu-va-phat-trien-ben-vung-2581325/