Vietnam is set for an expansion of its wind energy industry, with more than 1GW of capacity expected to be installed by 2021.

That’s according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), which found around 327MW of onshore and offshore wind capacity has been installed in the country so far.

The report suggests Vietnam is the country with one of the highest potential for both onshore and offshore wind and is the only nation in Southeast Asia to have developed offshore wind, with 99MW already installed.

Some of the key challenges in the main markets in the region, including the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, are lack of long term policy stability, strong preference for coal and strong gas lobby and electricity oversupply due to poor planning.

The Vietnamese Government has however committed to diversify the nation’s energy mix with 10% of renewables by 2030.

Liming Qiao, GWEC Asia Director said: “Changes in local policies are giving the industry renewed momentum and creating significant opportunities for the wind energy market to grow in Vietnam and the Southeast Asia region as a while. With a favourable Feed-in Tariff and ambitious renewable energy targets up to 2030, it is clear that the government is ready to make the shift to clean energy.

“However, coal continues to be the dominant source of energy for the South East Asia markets and we must overcome roadblocks like project financing and bankable PPAs to continue expansion within the region. We are looking forward to working together with all the stakeholders in the region through our new Southeast Asia Task Force to develop the right regulatory frameworks and overcome these roadblocks to ensure that the true benefits of wind power can be realised in the region.”

Last year, the government increased its Feed-in Tariff for all projects in Vietnam, including onshore and offshore wind, in operation by November 2021 but the support for projects being installed after that date is still unclear.