Small Vietnam goes big on hydro ambition

摘要

If Vietnam is to bank on its 2,000-strong streams and rivers for its small hydropower plants ambition, it could just one day wake up to a dream come true. Small Vietnam has numerous assets that are conducive to help it build SHP plants - to be specific, more than 2,000 streams and rivers that are more than nine kilometers in length. Based on data from the International Hydropower Associations 2016 Hydropower Status Report, Vietnam commissioned four hydropower stations totalling 1,030 MW in 2015. The government also approved last December a strategy to increase hydropower generation from 56 TWh in 2015, to 90 TWh in 2020 (which corresponds to 21,000 MW total installed hydropower capacity), and 96 TWh in 2030. Meanwhile, the US EIA's International Energy Outlook 2016 says Vietnam has Southeast Asia's most ambitious hydroelectric development plan.