This point of view was shared during a recent meeting held between Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An, Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam Grete Lochen, and Equinor representatives to discuss a host of issues related to offshore wind power in the country.

Ambassador Lochen hailed the strong developments in the friendship and multifaceted co-operation between both sides over the years, especially in terms of the marine economy, renewable energy, climate change response, and sustainable development.

With longstanding expertise in marine and offshore operations, Norway can be viewed as being in a unique position to contribute to the growing offshore wind market.

Norwegian companies and industrial clusters are in the process of utilizing their offshore expertise, especially their experience, skills, and knowledge of offshore construction in order to assert their position in the global offshore wind market.

Jens Økland, senior vice president for business development in renewables, said that Equinor had officially opened a representative office in Hanoi. This demonstrates the Norwegian Government's long-term support for the nation in fulfilling its commitments on climate change response at the 26th session of the UN Conference of the Parties (COP26).

The opening of a representative office in Hanoi by Equinor is a good signal aimed at supporting the Vietnamese Government in policy making to realise its commitments to climate change adaptation and green transformation. This also represents an important milestone in the agenda of business co-operation between both sides, the Norwegian Ambassador emphasized.

Deputy Minister An noted his appreciation for the co-operation between Equinor and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in recent times.

With regard to the Vietnamese policy relating to offshore wind power development, according to the latest draft of the country’s Power Development Plan, the nation is projected to generate 16,121 MW of onshore and nearshore wind power and approximately 7,000 MW of offshore wind power. The proportion of wind power accounts for roughly 15.8% of the total system capacity, of which offshore wind power stands at 4.8%.

The Deputy Minister added that he hopes Equinor will continue to receive co-operation and share their experience from Norway to help the nation realize its goals.

Økland noted that with experience in researching the Vietnamese market since 2019, the firm is ready to transfer knowledge and contribute to the policy making process, as well as developing the offshore wind power supply chain in the nation. This will be done for the purpose of increasing the capacity of domestic energy companies and creating jobs for domestic workers.

He expressed his hope that the local offshore wind power industry could become a strong sector in the future.

Source: VOV