Vietnam Surrenders, Becomes Victim of US-Iran War

The Vietnamese government is now considering building more coal-fired power plants to ensure energy security. Although Vietnam has aggressively pushed for an energy transition in recent years to reduce its dependence on coal, the US-Iran war and disrupted LNG supplies are forcing Hanoi to rely again on coal-fired power to maintain energy security. This is to support its rapid economic growth target of 10% in 2026. “Recently, conflicts in the Middle East have affected LNG supply security, creating a need to strengthen energy security,” the government said in a statement. “The government… may adjust its national energy plan to add more energy generated from coal to the energy mix,” it added. Previously, Vietnam had set a target to have a fleet of LNG-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 22.5 gigawatts by 2030. However, only 7.3% of that target has been achieved so far. The slow progress is due to regulatory hurdles and a lack of investor interest. The US-Iran war, in particular, has raised concerns about LNG supply security. Under the new plan, Vietnam is targeting a total installed capacity ranging from 183 to 236 GW by 2030. Coal-fired power plants would account for 13.1-16.9% of the total, and LNG for 9.5-12.3%. Electricity production in the first half of this year rose 9.8% compared to the same period last year, reaching 171.5 billion kilowatt hours. Coal-fired power plants contributed 54.5% of that production, according to state utility company EVN.