A growing number of domestic and international developers are increasingly exploring Vietnam's offshore wind opportunities, with a pipeline of larger-scale deep-water offshore wind projects to potentially come online in the foreseeable future. The World Bank has recently concluded that Vietnam could see an increase in offshore wind power capacity of between 11 to 25GW by 2035, depending on the government's success in formulating and implementing the necessary policies to grow the industry. Vietnam currently has 18 offshore wind projects in operation, all of which are located in nearshore waters.

Reform and clear policy formulation are needed, but with sufficient political will it is not inconceivable that this could occur relatively quickly, and whilst not always perfect, Vietnam does have a recent track-record in implementing such reforms to catalyse its renewables sector – offshore wind represents the next major frontier. The growing number of development stage projects led by both domestic and "household name" foreign investors is encouraging, and with the release of PDP8 imminent, and COP 27 later this year, the market is expected to continue to attract significant investor interest.

In this article, Ben Thompson, David Harrison, Matthew Chow and Daniel Haberfield look at the latest developments in offshore wind, as well as the key challenges and opportunities inherent in developing large-scale offshore wind power projects in the Vietnamese market.

Downloads – Download Document

Originally published by Project Finance International

Visit us at mayerbrown.com

Mayer Brown is a global legal services provider comprising legal practices that are separate entities (the "Mayer Brown Practices"). The Mayer Brown Practices are: Mayer Brown LLP and Mayer Brown Europe - Brussels LLP, both limited liability partnerships established in Illinois USA; Mayer Brown International LLP, a limited liability partnership incorporated in England and Wales (authorized and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and registered in England and Wales number OC 303359); Mayer Brown, a SELAS established in France; Mayer Brown JSM, a Hong Kong partnership and its associated entities in Asia; and Tauil & Chequer Advogados, a Brazilian law partnership with which Mayer Brown is associated. "Mayer Brown" and the Mayer Brown logo are the trademarks of the Mayer Brown Practices in their respective jurisdictions.

© Copyright 2020. The Mayer Brown Practices. All rights reserved.

This Mayer Brown article provides information and comments on legal issues and developments of interest. The foregoing is not a comprehensive treatment of the subject matter covered and is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to the matters discussed herein.