Technical Report Eor Eng Final

07-05-2019
Published by:
Ea Energy Analyses
Gammeltorv 8, 6. tv.
1457 Copenhagen K
Denmark
www.eaea.dk
2 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

Contents
Foreword ....................................................................................................6
Executive summary .....................................................................................8
1 Introduction ...................................................................................... 11
1.1 Vietnamese energy landscape .......................................................... 11
1.2 Vietnamese power sector................................................................. 13
2 The models used ............................................................................... 17

2.1 The TIMES model .............................................................................. 17
2.2 Balmorel ........................................................................................... 20
2.3 PSS/E ................................................................................................. 22
2.4 Combined model setup .................................................................... 24
3 Data input to the TIMES and Balmorel models.................................... 28

3.1 Demand drivers ................................................................................ 28
3.2 Electricity demand ............................................................................ 29
3.3 Future fuel prices .............................................................................. 29
3.4 Investment options for power, storage and transmission capacity 32
3.5 Investment options for end-use technologies ................................. 35
3.6 RE and domestic fuel potentials ....................................................... 37
3.7 Transmission system – Input from PSS/E modelling ........................ 42
4 Energy scenarios ................................................................................ 44

4.1 Core scenarios .................................................................................. 44
4.2 Green power scenarios..................................................................... 47
5.3. Sensitivity analyses ........................................................................... 49
5 Modelling results - Core scenarios ...................................................... 50

5.1 Resources.......................................................................................... 50
5.2 Demand sectors ................................................................................ 54
Total final energy demand........................................................................ 54
Sectoral energy saving potential .............................................................. 55
5.3 System costs and emissions ............................................................. 60
5.4 Detailed results for the power sector............................................... 63
6 Modelling results – Green power scenarios ........................................ 69

6.1 Renewable energy scenarios ............................................................ 70
6.2 CO2 emission limit............................................................................. 74
6.3 Comparison of the two sets of scenarios ......................................... 80
7 Model results - Sensitivity analyses .................................................... 82

7.1 Sensitivity analysis on fuel prices ..................................................... 82
7.2 Sensitivity analysis on UC ................................................................. 86
7.3 Sensitivity analysis on battery costs ................................................. 89
7.4 Sensitivity analysis on PV potential .................................................. 93
7.5 Sensitivity analysis for less output of hydro ..................................... 96
7.6 Sensitivity analysis overview ............................................................ 99
8 Discussion and key findings.............................................................. 102

8.1 Energy efficiency............................................................................. 102
8.2 Energy resources ............................................................................ 102
8.3 Power sector ................................................................................... 103
Fuel resources......................................................................................... 103
Energy efficiency..................................................................................... 104
Renewable energy .................................................................................. 105
Power system balancing ......................................................................... 105
8.4 Climate impact ................................................................................ 106
8.5 Discussion ....................................................................................... 106
Wind and solar........................................................................................ 106
Storage.................................................................................................... 107
Imported fuels ........................................................................................ 108

References.............................................................................................. 109

Foreword
The activity described in this report is part of Development Engagement 1:
“Capacity Development for long-range energy sector planning with Electricity
and Renewable Energy Agency of Viet Nam”, currently being conducted under
the Energy Partnership Programme between Viet Nam and Denmark (DEPP).
The objective of Development Engagement 1 is to make Vietnam’s energy
system more sustainable through implementation of cost-optimised policy
and planning.
This objective is to be achieved by assisting the Electricity and Renewable

Energy Authority of Viet Nam (EREA) and the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry
and Trade (MOIT) to commission, develop, and analyse comprehensive long-
term energy scenarios.
This report documents the model-based analyses that are expected to be a

cornerstone in the Vietnam Energy Outlook Report (EOR) 2019, which builds
on the work carried out in the first edition, EOR 2017 (MOIT and DEA, 2017).
The core activities comprising the current study include:

 Installation and use of the energy system modelling server at EREA
 Training of analysts and operators in the electricity system model
Balmorel
 Econometric analyses of historical electricity demand and future
prognoses
 Development of a Vietnamese technology catalogue, including in-
vestment costs for power generation technologies such as coal, gas,
wind, solar and several other relevant technologies for the years
2020, 2030 and 2050.
 Fuel price prognoses for imported and domestic fuels (2020-2050).
The econometric analyses, the technology catalogue and the fuel prices prog-
noses are published as separate background reports to the EOR 2019.
The energy scenarios presented in this report are based on a modelling

framework comprising two energy optimisation models, TIMES (encompassing
supply, conversion and end-use sectors) and Balmorel (representing the pow-
er sector in high technical, temporal and geographical detail). The two models
have been calibrated in order to represent the Vietnamese energy system.

Furthermore, the power grid model PSS/E has been applied to strengthen the
conclusions regarding the power grid.
This report is based on close cooperation with EREA, the Danish Energy Agen-
cy (DEA), the Vietnam Institute of Energy (IE) and many national stakeholders.

Executive summary
Affordable and secure Energy is a crucial component of all sectors in a modern well-functioning soci-
energy is key while envi- ety. Access to affordable energy with a high degree of security of supply is
ronmental concerns therefore essential, while providing this energy in an environmentally low-
growing impact fashion is also becoming increasingly important. This report presents
findings from a study that investigates the long-term development of the Vi-
etnamese energy system (2020-2050). Different scenarios describe varying
future potential pathways for the whole energy system and the results in
terms of electricity generation mix, fuel use, import dependency, total system
costs, local pollution, and CO2 emissions.
High growth accompa- Vietnam has experienced high rates of economic growth in recent years, a
nied with challenges for trend that is expected to continue. While positive, this growth is also accom-
the energy system panied with challenges for the Vietnamese energy sector. The country for
example became a net importer of energy in 2015. Domestic energy sources,
such as coal, gas and hydro will not be able to meet the growth in energy de-
mand, and this import dependency will increase in the future.
Suite of modelling tools The models TIMES, Balmorel and PSS/E are used to analyse different aspects
utilised in analysis of the energy system. TIMES includes all energy sectors on a general level,
Balmorel allows for more detailed analysis of the power (and heat) sector,
while PSS/E is an even more detailed model of the power system that is used
to check the assumptions regarding power flow and transmission capacities
used in Balmorel. TIMES and Balmorel meet the given requirements while
optimising for a least-cost energy system solution.
Energy efficiency partic- With improved economic development comes both increases and changes to
ularly for air condition- electricity demand. For example, only a minor share of energy consumption
ing today is used for air conditioning. In 2050 however, air conditioning in house-
holds and the commercial sector is expected to reach 20% of the total elec-
tricity consumption. There exist numerous options for high efficiency air con-
ditioning, which also highlights the importance of energy efficiency in general,
which should be a focus point in order to guide end-users to improve comfort
at the lowest possible costs.
Energy efficiency key In the current study the TIMES model provides a bottom-up approach includ-
element ing 5 demand sectors and 12 industrial subsectors to analyse energy demand
development. Energy efficiency measures in transport, industry and house-

holds prove to be very attractive in both reducing fuel and power demand in
the end-use sectors and reducing the total system costs. Increased implemen-
tation of energy efficiency in certain sectors should therefore be a key ele-
ment in the development of the future energy system.
CHP in industry increas- In industry the analyses highlight the potential to use combined heat and
es system efficiency power (CHP) to produce both process heat and electricity. Combined genera-
tion is much more efficient than generating heat and electricity separately.
Cost reductions in solar, Within the power sector new technologies may soon play a much more prom-
wind and batteries pro- inent role in the generation mix. The cost of wind and solar power, as well as
vide new opportunities batteries, has fallen dramatically during the last few years. These cost reduc-
and challenges tions provide new possibilities (and challenges) for the future development of
the power sector. Wind and solar are variable in their generation and require
new procedures for system balancing. In the current study, solar power in
combination with battery storage results as the main future RE technology
given the good solar resources in Vietnam.
Series of wide-ranging The analysis found that it is possible to reduce the annual costs of imported
scenarios provide in- fuel from 7.5 billion USD to 4 billion USD in 2030 with 32% and 52% shares of
sights into effects of RE in the power sector respectively. In 2050, the reduction would go from 16
potential pathways billion USD with 43% RE share to below 4 billion USD with 80% RE). However,
due to higher upfront installation costs, the higher the share of RE (and corre-
sponding lower CO2 emissions and reduced cost for imported fuels), the high-
er the overall system cost.
Starting at 40% RE, for each percentage of CO2 emissions reduction from the
Vietnamese power sector, the total system costs increase with 0.3%. The costs
increase slightly more when strong emissions reductions (more than 50% RE)
are realised. Across the analysed scenarios, the CO2 emissions range between
200-280 Mt in 2030, and 160-550 Mt in 2050.
LNG is expensive, but Liquified natural gas (LNG) is an imported energy source that may be used in
can play a role in a low Vietnam in the future. CO2 emissions from LNG are considerably lower than
CO2 future those from coal, and there is essentially no sulphur or particulate matter emit-
ted when combusting LNG. However, LNG is an expensive fuel, nearly three
times the cost of imported coal. In this study, LNG becomes an attractive solu-
tion if strong CO2 reductions are pursued.

Future studies - Inter- Across the studied scenarios, batteries are used extensively to balance the
connectors, power system. Pumped storage has also been tested, yet the system requires
demand response and a relative high capacity (MW) compared to storage volume (MWh), and in this
CSP should be studied respect Li-ion batteries are more attractive than pumped storage. However, a
number of alternatives should be investigated in relation to power storage
and balancing options. Alternatives could include more interconnectors to
neighbouring countries, activation of demand response (where a portion of
electricity demand reacts to the price of electricity and thereby acts as a form
of storage), or concentrated solar power (CSP), where energy can be stored as
heat.

1 Introduction
1.1 Vietnamese energy landscape
During the last decades, Vietnam has experienced increased economic activi-
ty, industrial development, urbanisation, increased transport demand, im-
proved energy access and rising living standards, all of which are major drivers
for growing energy consumption.
2007-2017: Annual pri- In the period 2007-2017, the Vietnamese total primary energy supply (TPES)
mary energy supply grew at 5.5% per annum, thereby increasing from 45.9 Mtoe (1,922 PJ) in
grows by 5.5% 2007 to 78.4 Mtoe (3,282 PJ) in 2017. Hydropower experienced the highest
growth at 15% p.a., followed by coal at 11% p.a.. Coal’s share of energy supply
therefore increased significantly during this period, as it went from the 3rd
largest fuel source in 2007, to being the largest source 10 years later. Mean-
while, the opposite is true for biomass, which, due to a gradual decline in en-
ergy supply, saw its share go from being the largest contributor in 2007, to the
3rd largest in 2017. Non-hydro renewables (i.e. solar and wind, etc.) have his-
torically only contributed to a very small share in TPES. An overview of the
historical Vietnamese TPES according to fuel type for 2007-2017 is presented
in Figure 1.
3.500 25
3.000
20
2.500
15
2.000
GJ/USD
PJ
1.500
10
1.000
5
500
- 0
2017
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Coal Oil
Gas Biomass
Renewables Hydro
Electricity import Energy intensity (GJ/USD)
Figure 1: Historical TPES according to fuel type and energy intensity. *Note that the jump from
2014 to 2015 is partially due to a change in data collection methods that resulted in more de-
tailed data being collected from Industry. (IE, 2017), GSO.
GDP slightly outpacing Annual GDP grew at a rate of 6.0% during the period 2007-2017, thus increas-
energy supplied ing slightly faster than the annual growth rate in energy supply, i.e. 5.5%. This

resulted in an average primary energy vs. GDP elasticity of 0.92. Energy inten-
sity, expressed as the ratio of primary energy to GDP, exhibited a slightly de-
creasing trend.
From net exporter to net After being a net energy exporter for a long time, recent increases in domestic
importer of energy activities and a policy limiting coal exports, Vietnam became a net energy
importer in 2015 with an import dependency rate of 6%. This rate continues
to grow quickly, as it was already 16% in 2016 and 19% in 2017, primarily
driven by increased coal imports. Due to foreseen continued economic
growth, and limited domestic resources, it is anticipated that this import de-
pendency rate will continue to rise in the future. The 2007-2017 historical
development in the energy import/export balance and the related import
dependency is displayed in Figure 2.
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
1500 30%
1000 20%
10%
500
0%
0
-10%
PJ
%
-500
-20%
-1000
-30%
-1500 -40%
-2000 -50%
Export Import Net import Import dependency
Figure 2: Historical development in energy import/export balance and the related import de-
pendency 2007-2017 (IE, 2017), GSO.
During the period 2007-2017, the total final energy consumption (TFEC) in-
creased from 40.4 Mtoe (1,691 PJ) in 2007 to 65.2 Mtoe (2,730 PJ) in 2017,
with a growth rate of 4.9% per annum. The industrial sector underwent the
largest annual average growth during the period at 10.6%1, followed by the
commercial and transport sectors with 6.4% and 5.2% per annum respective-
ly. Residential final energy consumption decreased during the period due to a
trend involving displacing traditional biomass use with electricity and other
fossil fuels. By 2017, industry represented 55% of TFEC, followed by transport
and residential with 21% and 17% respectively. Development in TFEC for
2007-2017 is displayed in Figure 3.
1 Note however that this large growth figure for industry includes a large jump from 2014 to 2015, which is
partially due to a change in data collection methods that resulted in more detailed data being collected
from Industry.

3000
2500
2000
1500
PJ
1000
500
0
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Industrial Agricultural Transport Commercial Residential Non-energy
Figure 3: Trends for TFEC in 20017-2017. *Note that the large jump from 2014 to 2015 is partial-
ly due to a change in data collection methods that resulted in more detailed data being collect-
ed from Industry. (IE, 2017), GSO.
Following the socio-economic development, energy consumption in recent

years has increased quickly, and consequently greenhouse gas emissions
(GHG) from energy uses, processes and extractions have increased from 134
Mt CO2e in 2010, to 179 Mt CO2e in 2014 (MONRE, 2014), with one third re-
lated to electricity generation in 2014.
Based on the past development, challenges for sustainable energy develop-

ment include:
 Decoupling the high economic growth rates from increases in energy
demand;
 Limiting the environmental and climate change impacts of energy de-
velopment;
 Limited domestic fossil resources, especially coal and natural gas;
 Uncertainty related to the establishment of the necessary infrastruc-
ture for coal and LNG import;
 Promoting effective funding schemes for financing RE and EE devel-
opment;
 Resolving possible challenges for the integration of variable renewa-
ble energy (VRE) into power system.
1.2 Vietnamese power sector

In 2018, the total power generation capacity of the Vietnam electricity system
was roughly 49 GW, of which large hydro power accounted for nearly 35%,
coal roughly 39%, natural gas about 15%, and small hydro and other renewa-

bles accounting for nearly 8%. Peak electricity demand was over 35 GW in
2018, while total annual generation from all of Vietnam's power plants
reached over 220 TWh. In terms of ownership structure, Vietnam Electricity,
EVN, and its joint stock companies (GENCO 1,2,3) account for about 58%, Pet-
ro of Vietnam accounts for roughly 9%, the Vina Comin owns nearly 4%, BOT
power sources account for slightly over 8%, and private investors' power
sources own nearly 21%.
As Vietnam is still a developing country, the demand for energy consumption

in general, and the demand for electricity consumption in particular, continue
to grow quickly. During the years from 2008 to 2018, the demand for electrici-
ty in Vietnam increased by an average of over 11% per year. To meet this
growing electricity demand, Vietnam needs to put into operation an addition-
al 3-4 GW of generation capacity each year. Total investment in the electricity
sector is roughly 11 billion USD per year.
Electricity sector chal- The rapid speed of development, the large annual required investment capi-
lenges tal, the impact of scientific and technical developments, and the environmen-
tal effects associated with the electricity sector pose a number of challenges
going forward. Seven main issues have been identified and are described
briefly below.
 The Vietnamese electricity demand is anticipated to continue to grow
rapidly in the period from now through to 2025 and 2035. According
to the most recent Power Development Plan (PDP VII revised), the
electricity generation sector will have to ensure the production and
import of 400 TWh in 2025, and 572 TWh by 2030. Annual electricity
growth rates during the period from 2021-2025 are estimated to be-
come roughly 8.5%, and only falling slightly to 7.5% per year during
the 2026-2030 period. According to the PDP, the estimated installed
generation capacity in 2030 may grow to nearly 130 GW. Growth of
this magnitude poses major challenges covering many aspects, includ-
ing: securing adequate investment capital, construction of electricity
generation sources, transmission and distribution grids and other re-
lated infrastructure, modernising operation of the electricity system,
ensuring cost-effective and efficient use of electricity, and ensuring
human resource development.
 Shift to a net importer of energy required for electricity production as
domestic sources become exhausted. In 2018, the total installed ca-
pacity of hydro power plants in Vietnam was 17 GW, and by 2020 this
is planned to grow to 18 GW. At that point Vietnam will have exploit-

ed most its economic and technical potential of large and medium-
sized hydro plants. With respect to coal, domestic production output
is estimated to be able to support only 13 GW of coal-fired capacity.
As a result, in 2017, Vietnam had imported coal with large amount for
electricity production (about 3 million tons). Import volumes are esti-
mated to be over 55 million tonnes in 2025 with this growing to 85
million tonnes in 2030. Domestic gas production capacity is anticipat-
ed to be able to supply gas to nearly 10 GW of thermal gas-fired ca-
pacity in 2020, and up to roughly 15 GW after the Blue Whale gas field
comes into operation. With an estimated 22.8 GW of gas-fired gener-
ation capacity in 2030 (according to PDP VII revised) Vietnam will
need to import LNG after 2020 for electricity generation. Limited pri-
mary energy resource, or their depletion thereof, e.g. hydropower,
domestic coal and gas, represents a huge challenge for the electricity
sector, as it raises issues related to energy security, ensuring a safe
and reliable power supply, as well as financing the large sums re-
quired for imported fuels and related infrastructure.
 The Vietnamese electricity system is the third largest in Southeast
Asia (after Thailand and Indonesia), and is in a rapid development
stage. Vietnam's electricity system has however some weaknesses.
The electricity infrastructure requires reinforcement, as a number of
aspects within the system are outdated.
o There are some thermal power plants with long remaining
lifetimes that have outdated equipment and low efficiencies,
including Ninh Binh, Uong Bi and Pha Lai 1.
o The transmission grid can still become overloaded and power
quality is not high (e.g. overload occurs in the transmission
grid of Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh city areas, over voltage still
occurs in the 500kV inter-regional transmission line).
o The systems for protection, automation, and communication
are not synchronised, and the automatic control functions do
not work smoothly. Smart grid implementation is still at a
testing level.
 Strong growth in renewable energy deployment can pose challenges.
According to the PDP VII revised, the share of electricity demand from
renewable sources (primarily wind and solar) will be roughly 12% in
2025 and grow to 21% in 2030. Wind and solar power production are
non-dispatchable and operating a power system that incorporates a
large proportion of solar and wind power sources requires research
and investment in sources of electricity storage, improved weather

and meteorological forecasting, and improved grid connection. Ac-
cording to information from EREA, by the time of January 2019, the
total size of registered investment projects of solar and wind has
reached about 22GW and 10GW respectively. These capacities are
larger than those for 2030 published in the PDP VII revised.
 Environmental and climate change issues increasingly put pressure on
the electricity sector. It is estimated that PDP VII revised expects up to
120 million tonnes of CO2 emissions from electricity production in
2020 and nearly 260 million tonnes in 2030. In 2030 these emissions
account for 70% of total emissions from the energy sector and 60% of
total national CO2 emissions. As a result, the impact of electricity pro-
duction on the environment, biodiversity, our lifestyle, cultural prac-
tices and traditions of the people has become an increasingly im-
portant issue for power development.
 Vietnamese national economy and overall infrastructure is still under
development, and it may therefore be difficult to allocate the re-
quired resources for the development of the power sector. In 2017,
Vietnam's GDP was estimated to be roughly 220 billion USD, and this
is anticipated to more than triple, reaching nearly 810 billion USD by
2030. According to the revised PDP7, the required investment in the
electricity sector in 2030 is forecasted to be more than 10 billion USD
(not including investment capital under BOT form), thus accounting
for more 1% of GDP and about 3.3% of total national investment. Vi-
etnamese transport infrastructure, infrastructure that supports indus-
try, and construction capacity are also all in the development stage.
The above issues all pose challenges to the development of the elec-
tricity sector.
 Development of a competitive electricity market and the liberalisation
of the electricity sector are being promoted. Accordingly, the state will
only retain power plants for strategic purposes (for example, large
hydroelectric power plants, multi-purpose services such as Hoa Binh
HPP, Son La HPP), while other power plants will be gradually sold. The
government encourages both foreign and domestic actors to invest in
building electricity generation sources. The state only holds monopo-
lies regarding the transmission grid. The policy of expanding owner-
ship in the electricity sector development has created investment op-
portunities for many sectors. This leads to positive changes in how the
power development structure will be in the future, but also requires
adequate market design and transitional arrangements.

2 The models used
The current project utilises three energy models to be able to (i) encompass
the entire energy system, (ii) represent the necessary level of technical, geo-
graphical and temporal detail, and (iii) maintain an operational and flexible
model setup. The modelling framework includes:
 TIMES-Vietnam model, covering all sectors in the energy system, in-
cluding total energy use in industry, residential and service sectors as
well as transport. See section 3.1.
 Balmorel model, representing investment and operation of the power
system in great detail. See section 3.2.
 PSS/E model, encompassing the power transmission system with de-
tailed information about transmission lines (220 kV and greater),
transformers and other grid components. See section 3.3.
2.1 The TIMES model

TIMES model generator: The TIMES (The Integrated MARKAL-EFOM System) model generator was de-
principles and coverage veloped as part of the IEA-ETSAP's methodology for energy scenarios to con-
duct in-depth energy and environmental analyses. The TIMES model genera-
tor combines two different, and complementary, approaches to modelling
energy: a technical engineering approach and an economic approach (Loulou,
Goldstein, Kanudia, Lettila, & Remme, 2016). Currently 19 countries, the EU
and two private sector sponsors are participating to ensure the continual ad-
vancement of the methodology.
Moreover, TIMES is an economic model for analyses of national energy sys-

tems, which provides a technology-rich basis for estimating energy dynamics
over a long-term horizon. It is usually applied to the analysis of the entire en-
ergy sector. The reference case estimates of end-use energy service demands
(e.g., car road travel; residential lighting; steam heat requirements in the pa-
per industry; etc.) are provided by the user for each region. In addition, the
user provides estimates of the existing stock of energy equipment in all sec-
tors, and the characteristics of available future technologies, as well as pre-
sent and future sources of primary energy supply and their potentials.
Using these as inputs, the TIMES model aims to supply energy services at min-
imum global cost by simultaneously optimizing technology investment and
operation.
On the other hand, TIMES presents some modelling limitations, including as-
sumptions on perfect foresight, perfect market conditions and modelling from

the point of view of a central planner with perfect information on all events
on the time horizon.
TIMES-Vietnam The TIMES-Vietnam has been developed under the World Bank funded project
“Getting Vietnam on a Low-Carbon Energy Path to Achieve NDC Target”
(DWG, 2018) which supports MOIT in developing cost-effective low-carbon
energy mitigation options and pathways both on the demand and supply sides
to achieve the NDC target. The TIMES-Vietnam model has been developed
along with building local expertise to effectively steward and apply the meth-
odology on a long-term basis. The TIMES-Vietnam model has been further
adapted to support the scenario analysis of the EOR (this report).
The TIMES-Vietnam model covers all parts of the energy system, from primary
energy resources to power plants and other fuel processing plants, ultimately
to various demand devices in all five demand sectors2.
Primary energy, in the form of domestic and imported fossil fuels, and a varie-
ty of domestic renewable energy sources are available to meet the energy
demands of the country. Power plants and fuel processing plants convert the
primary energy sources into final energy carriers, such as electricity, oil prod-
ucts and natural gas, which are used in the demand sectors. There are both
existing and potential future plants grouped by fuel and type, which are char-
acterized by their existing capacity or investment cost, operating costs, effi-
ciency and other performance parameters. The final energy carriers are con-
sumed in demand-specific end-use devices (e.g. electricity is used in residen-
tial lamps for providing lighting), that are used to satisfy the demands for en-
ergy services in that sector.
The model contains five demand sectors: Agriculture, Commercial, Industry,

Residential and Transportation. Each demand sector is characterized by a spe-
cific set of end-use devices that deliver end-use services (such as lighting,
cooling, cooking, industrial process heat, motor drive, passenger and freight
travel). These existing and potential new end-use devices are characterized
by their existing capacity or investment cost, operating costs, efficiency and
other performance parameters. Transport demands include road passenger,
road freight, railway passenger, railway freight, airway passenger, airway
freight and waterway freight. Transport demands are provided by different
transport devices, which capacities and activities are exogenous in the current
2 For further information about the TIMES – Vietnam model see separate “TIMES Data Report”.

Vietnam-TIMES model and based on scenarios provided by the Ministry of
Transport. These devices are characterized with investment and operating
costs, which allow the model to calculate the costs for transport sector. The
demands for energy services are determined by projecting the base year en-
ergy demands, which are derived from the energy balance 2014 (IE, 2017) as
part of the calibration process, in accordance with sector-specific drivers, such
as GDP growth, GDP per capita growth, industrial production projections,
space cooling growth expectations, etc. The base year 2014 is chosen due to
solid data availability and consistency with other NDC assignments, which are
being implemented in line ministries (MOIT, MONRE, MOT etc.).
Figure 4: Modelling framework for TIMES-Vietnam
Base year energy service demands are extrapolated up to 2050 with following
assumptions and expert judgements:
 Energy balance 2014 reflects business-as-usual energy use intensities
and existing technology stock;
 GDP increases at 7% per annum to 2030; afterwards it has a decreas-
ing rate to 2050 (IE, 2015);
 Population and urbanization as in GSO’s projections to 2049 (GSO,
2016);
 Industrial demands grow as in approved development plans for sever-
al industrial subsectors3;
 Residential demands grow in line with the increases in population and
urbanization;
3 Collected from various official documents for approval of sectoral development plans.

 Agricultural, commercial and transport demands grow in line with the
GDP growth rate
TIMES-Vietnam is structured with twelve (12) time slices: three seasons (Wet,
Intermediate and Dry) and four divisions of the day (day, morning peak, even-
ing peak and night).
Owing to the nature of the availability of resource supplies and the long-
distance transmission lines in Vietnam, three transmission regions are identi-
fied in TIMES-Vietnam: North, Central and South for domestic resources (in-
cluding renewables), refineries, and power plants. The existing capacity of the
transmission lines between the regions are reflected in the model, along with
the cost for expanding the infrastructure in the future. A fourth consumption
region (Vietnam) is used to depict the national demand for the five (5) end-
use sectors. The three transmission regions each deliver their outputs (power
and fuels) to the national consumption region. In order to reflect the limita-
tion of e.g. power plants in the North delivering power to the South, con-
sumption centre constraints have been set on the transmission lines connect-
ing each transmission region to the consumption region. The capacity of these
transmission lines are limited to reflect that a maximum electricity generation
can be supplied within the regions. Setting the capacity bounds is mainly
based on expected regional electricity demands and partly regional genera-
tion potential.
2.2 Balmorel
The Vietnamese power system analyses are carried out with the Balmorel
model, which is a least-cost dispatch and investment power system model.
The model is based on a detailed technical representation of the existing
power system, as well as future generation investment options. All generation
plants and the interconnected transmission grid are represented on an indi-
vidual basis.
The model finds an energy balance for the system in each time step. The out-
put is a least-cost optimisation of the dispatch of the generation units repre-
sented in the model. In addition, the model simultaneously allows for invest-
ments to be made in different new generation units (e.g. coal (incl. CCS op-
tion), gas, wind, solar, biomass, small hydro, biomass and nuclear as well as in
new interconnector capacity. The model can be run on hourly time steps to
allow for adequate analysis of the integration of the variable renewable ener-
gy (RE) in the power system.

Balmorel - Vietnam The model contains data of the Vietnamese electricity system: the map in
Figure 5 illustrates the existing (2018) interconnected power system in Vi-
etnam. The country is represented as six transmission regions, with their indi-
vidual hourly electricity consumption.4 The transmission regions are connect-
ed by electricity transmission lines with fixed capacity. In total, seven lines
connect the transmission regions, and electricity balances are given on a re-
gional basis. Hence, for each region an electricity balance must be fulfilled,
while electricity may be exchanged between regions.
In addition, four transmission lines connect China, Laos and Cambodia to the
Vietnamese grid. Import from the neighbouring countries takes place with
fixed profiles. For more details on the setup of the Vietnamese model please
see: (Ea Energy Analyses, 2019a).
The model can be run with full hourly resolution or with aggregated time
steps to save computational time. The current analysis represents each year
by 364 time-slices, utilizing 26 aggregated seasons, representing two-week
periods each. Each of these seasons is modelled with 14 time-steps, which are
aggregated in a logical way, grouping all hours of the week with a similar
character (e.g peak load, solar peak, low demand in weekends and nights
etc.).5 In order to represent the dynamic properties of the different genera-
tion technologies, unit commitment is activated in the model. This is done in
the simplified form referred to as relaxed mixed integer modelling of unit
commitment. The unit commitment procedure applies start-up costs for vari-
ous generation technologies, which result in additional costs for less dynamic
technologies. Additionally, unit commitment restrictions, such as minimum
generation, ramping times and minimum up/down time are included. For
example, gas turbines are more dynamic than steam turbines (i.e. typical coal
plants), but hydro power is even more dynamic than gas turbines. The relaxed
form of mixed integer modelling indicates that binary (0/1) variables related
to unit commitment can take any real value between 0 and 1. This results in a
representation of the dynamics of unit commitment, in which individual con-
straints might be broken.
4 As part of the current project, the Balmorel-Vietnam model has been developed from three to six trans-
mission regions. The six regions are selected to represent the central region of Vietnam in more detail. This
is where a large part of the potential for wind and solar power is located. The six regions were chosen in
order to represent potential transmission bottle-necks in the system.
5
For this setup (364 time-steps and relaxed unit commitment), computation time for one scenario for 4
years is typically 20 minutes.

Lastly, it is worth noting that Balmorel is a free of charge6 open source model
and has been adapted for Vietnam during a series of activities in the last three
years. For more information about the model and examples for published
studies, see: (Ea Energy Analyses, 2018). For a simplified online demonstration
model, see: (Danish Energy Agency, 2018).
Figure 5: Transmission region and the current interconnectors in Vietnam (2018).
2.3 PSS/E
The model PSS/E7 (Power System Simulator for Engineering) belongs to Power
Technology Inc Company of Siemens Group. It is a program to simulate, ana-
lyse and optimize operational features of the power system, as well as power
system planning.
6License for GAMS is needed in order to run the model

7
See: https://new.siemens.com/global/en/products/energy/services/transmission-distribution-smart-
grid/consulting-and-planning/pss-software/pss-e.html

The PSS/e model is widely used in Vietnam for making short-term and long-
term grid planning. Its main functions in Grid Planning are Load flow, short
circuit calculation, P-V curve and Q-V curve analysis, dynamic stability simula-
tion. Additionally, N-1, N-2 criteria of the Grid can be checked by using PSS/e
simulation to analyse where these criteria are violated.
The PSS/E model was first used in National Load Dispatching Center (NLDC-A0)
in early 1990s. Then, Institute of Energy (under EVN at that time) used PSS/e
for grid design of National Power Development Plan (PDP) 4 (1995), PDP5
(2000), PDP6 (2005), PDP7 (2010) and PDP7 Revised (2015).
Now, NLDC (A0) and its subsidiary (Regional Load Dispatching Center – A1,2,3)
are using PSS/E V33-34 for making their operation planning: Weekly, Monthly
and Yearly Planning. The version of PSS/E used in this study is expected to be
used for Long-term Grid Planning in PDP8.
PSS/E Vietnam A detailed model of the Vietnamese power grid has been used to test grid
related assumptions in the Balmorel power system analyses. The 500kV and
220kV national power grids for the years 2020 and 2030 are represented in
the model. The model has around 600 nodes and 1200 branches of lines for
the system in 2030, including all plants (detailed by machines), loads, trans-
formers, shunts, facts, branches of lines. The example of 500kV, 220kV power
grid of a province can be seen in Figure 6.
In this study, the PSS/E model is harmonized with Balmorel results such as
generation capacity and demand projections. For selected critical hours (snap-
shots) from the in the years 2020 and 2030, the Balmorel generation dispatch
mix was modelled in PSS/E to compute the load flow of the power system.
Over and under voltage on nodes and transmission lines was determined, in
both normal operation mode (N-0) and in contingency mode (N-1) to assess
breach of safe operation of the grid.

Figure 6: The 500kV and 220kV power grid of Quang Ninh province in year 2020.
2.4 Combined model setup

TIMES – Balmorel One of the main strengths of TIMES is the broad coverage of the energy sys-
tem, especially the end-use economic sectors. The power sector is simplified
with three transmission regions and one demand region. Also, TIMES uses
only 12 aggregated time steps per year.
Balmorel – on the other hand – only covers the electricity sector, yet at a
more detailed geographical level (e.g. six regions) and temporal resolution
with more time steps (364 time-steps). This higher level of detail may be im-
portant for an accurate representation of wind and solar power.
The models are combined by soft-linking. The following section describes how
the linking is performed.

Figure 7: The interaction between TIMES and Balmorel.
In order to realise consistent and interpretable results from both the TIMES
model and the Balmorel model, careful harmonization of both model’s input
data took place. Consistency was ensured on data assumptions such as: exist-
ing and committed power system, transmission grid, costs and characteristics
of future investment options, fuel prices, wind and solar resources etc.
Linking the two models involved several iterations of model runs for calibrat-
ing results from the two models (Figure 7). These iterations are designed for
best use of the two powerful tools. In general, the soft-linking from TIMES to
Balmorel is performed to answer two major questions:
 How will the electricity demand develop? This includes the impact of
energy efficiency, the expansion of air-conditioning, electric vehicles
and the type on technology used in industry, etc.
 Which is the best use of domestic resources? E.g. biomass, domestic
coal and natural gas can be used in industry, residential or in the
power sector.
The TIMES model is used for optimizing across the whole energy system.
Therefore, TIMES has advantages in allocating resources among sections of
the system. Important results from TIMES for linking the two models are: elec-
tricity demands and allocations of resources in the power sector. In this analy-
sis restrictions on different types of bioenergy feedstocks have been imple-
mented in Balmorel based on the model output from TIMES.

In turn, Balmorel features a more detailed power sector representation,
thereby providing more accurate and creditable results for power sector in
terms of feasible capacity and generation.
Information on the transmission flow from generation centres to demand
centres is fed back by soft-linking to the TIMES model to improve the TIMES
modelling of the power sector.
Figure 8: Data flow between Balmorel and PSS/E.
Balmorel – PSS/E The analyses represent a static solution to a number of snapshots extracted
from Balmorel. For each snapshot, the generation per plant has been export-
ed from Balmorel to PSS/E, within which the detailed system balance was
found (Figure 8).
The data supplied from Balmorel to PSS/E include the generation capacity of
all power plants and transmission lines for each analysed year, i.e. 2020 and
2030, as well as the generation dispatch and transmission flow in selected
snap shots, representing hours which could be critical for the grid.
Snapshots exported from Balmorel to PSS/E are as following for the year
2020:
- Maximum load
- Minimum load
- Maximum residual load
- Minimum residual load
- Maximum total transmission flow (all 7 lines summed)
- Minimum total transmission flow (all 7 lines summed)
- Maximum wind and solar generation in South Central
- Minimum wind and solar generation in South Central

Subsequently, the PSS/E model calculates the load flow of the power grid
system, check the voltage and load of lines. In addition, N-1 situations are
tested, thus answering the question of whether the system will sustain the
most critical fault (e.g. tripping of a major line or plant).
The simulations performed with PSS/E can provide important information for
the calibration of the power system in Balmorel:
- If PSS/E accepts all situations, the transmission capacities may have
been too restrictive, and may be increased.
- If PSS/E indicates that the operation is not safe, as voltage cannot be
secured in all parts of the transmission grid, then there are two op-
tions:
 To add additional grid components (lines, transformers, com-
pensators) to ensure safe operation (this is an option for fu-
ture years, not for the start year)
 To reduce the transmission capacity used in Balmorel
These new transmission capacities from PSS/E results are fed back to Balmorel
to determine a new optimal dispatch. Iteration can continue until a safe oper-
ation is confirmed.

3 Data input to the TIMES and Balmorel mod-
els
This chapter briefly describes the input data for the modelling of the different
scenarios. More information can be found in the two data reports for TIMES
and Balmorel models, respectively (Institute of Energy, 2019) and (Ea Energy
Analyses, 2019a).
The model results are heavily dependent on input data, not the least on the
technology cost of the different generation technologies, fuel prices and re-
newable energy potentials. All these inputs are openly described in this report
and the corresponding data reports. Uncertainty is associated to many of the
values, e.g. the investment costs in 2030 and 2050.
3.1 Demand drivers

The primary demand drivers include GDP growth from (IE, 2015) (Figure 9),
population growth from (GSO, 2016) (Figure 10), GDP per capita growth, and
the number of persons per household. There are secondary drivers for each
demand sector, such as the elasticity of energy use to GDP growth, industrial
production projections, and market penetration rates for space cooling, re-
frigeration and electric appliances.
1000 8%
900 7%
800
6%
700
GDP - Billion USD
5%
GDP growth
600
500 4%
400 3%
300
2%
200
100 1%
0 0%
2014 2016 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050
Figure 9: GDP projection for Vietnam.

120 1,2%
100 1,0%
Population - Million people
GPopulation growth
80 0,8%
60 0,6%
40 0,4%
20 0,2%
0 0,0%
2014 2016 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050
Figure 10: Population projection for Vietnam.
3.2 Electricity demand

Electricity demand is one of the outputs from the TIMES model and will be
discussed in the results section. The power demand from TIMES is used as an
input to the Balmorel model by means of soft-linking. The demand found in
the TIMES modelling includes transmission losses (assumed 2.5%), which are
subtracted when fed to Balmorel, as the latter models transmission losses per
flow on the transmission lines. The division of the national demand over the 6
transmission regions is based on projections from PDP7 revised.
3.3 Future fuel prices

Fuel and electricity demand are growing quickly and a few years ago Vietnam
went from being a net exporter of fuel to a net importer. The country is there-
fore directly exposed to international fuel prices and projections of future
prices are an important input to the least-cost analyses development of the
Vietnamese energy system.
Fuel prices have shown large variations in the last three decades. Figure 11 for
example displays historical prices, as well as a number of International Energy
Agency (IEA) price prognoses, for European steam coal. The prognoses, e.g. in
2030, vary from nearly 2.5 to 5.0 USD/GJ. The individual prognoses appear to
be highly dependent on the cost of the fuel at the time the prognosis is under-
taken.

6
Historical
5
WEO 18
WEO 17
4 WEO 16
WEO 15
USD/GJ
3 WEO 14
WEO 11
2 WEO 08
WEO 05
1 WEO 02
WEO 98
WEO 96
0
1999
1990
1993
1996
2002
2005
2008
2011
2014
2017
2020
2023
2026
2029
2032
2035
2038
Figure 11: Historical coal prices and IEA prognoses from various years. USD2015 (European steam
coal).
A study of fuel prices and the methodology for projection has also been un-
dertaken, the results of which are detailed in a separate report (Ea Energy
Analyses and Institute of Energy, 2019). The recommendation in the report for
the Vietnamese case suggests using forward prices, e.g. (KPMG, 2018) for the
short term and IEA price prognoses (IEA, 2018) for the long term. The New
policies scenario is recommended to be the central price prognosis, while the
two other scenarios can be seen as high and low-price prognoses.8
The prices considered in the (Ea Energy Analyses and Institute of Energy,
2019) are CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) prices, i.e. reflecting the cost asso-
ciated with the fuel while still on board a ship in a Vietnamese harbour.
For imported coal and LNG, Vietnam-specific cost add-ons9 are added to find
the fuel prices as seen by the plants.
8 In the IEA World Energy Outlook report, there are three scenarios:
 Current policy is a frozen policy scenario with no new decisions
 New policies represent a central scenario with the expected policies implemented
 Sustainable development is a more aggressive policy scenario where the global goals for CO2 re-
duction (Paris scenario) will be met.
As the fuel demand is reduced in the more aggressive scenarios, the fuel price is expected to be lower.
9 Add-ons for coal: Domestic shipping fee and transit port fee. Furthermore, differentiation in CIF price is
made depending on whether the coal is shipped to the Northern two regions, the Central two regions or
the Southern two regions.
Add-ons for LNG: Terminal and storage fee, transportation and distribution fee, management and profit fee

The fuel prices of all fuels, including add-ons, used in the Balmorel model are
shown in Figure 12. In addition to the fuels modelled in Balmorel, other fuels
included in TIMES are oil products (i.e. gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel, LPG). The
prices for these fuels are indexed to the projected crude oil prices based on
the existing correlation between crude oil and oil products in 2016.
Figure 12: Fuel prices used in Balmorel

3.4 Investment options for power, storage and transmission
capacity
Power and storage ca- In the Vietnamese Technology Catalogue, international and Vietnamese in-
pacity vestment costs for coal and natural gas-based generation plants, as well as
wind and solar power have been compared, along with the development of
expected investment costs for 2020, 2030 and 2050. For more information
please see: (EREA, DEA, Institute of Energy and Ea Energy Analyses, 2019). The
catalogue also contains information about hydro, biomass, biogas, waste,
geothermal, diesel, pumped hydro and batteries. In addition to investment
costs, operation and maintenance costs (variable and fixed O&M), technology
efficiencies, as well as many other technical parameters are described.
The Technology Catalogue work has been based on Danish and Indonesian
Technology catalogues and key references such as: (IRENA, 2018, b), (IEA,
2017), (IEA, 2018), (IEA, 2015), and (ASEAN, 2016).
The techno-economic information from the Vietnamese Technology Cata-

logue has been implemented in the modelling framework (both for Balmorel
and TIMES). Additional technologies have been introduced as investment op-
tions in the model, e.g. Advanced Ultra Supercritical (AUSC) coal plants, low-
power wind turbines and nuclear plants. Lastly, concrete investment options
for pumped hydro have also been introduced. See: (Ea Energy Analyses,
2019a). Small differences exist between the Technology Catalogue and the
Balmorel modelling investment costs, as e.g. in the model input interest dur-
ing construction is added based on 10% investment cost and the lifetime of
the power plant. With respect to solar PV power, land costs are also included
in the investment costs (6 USD/m2 and 12 USD/m2 for the low and the high
land costs respectively).
Table 1: Power generation technology investment options.
Tech-
CAPEX Fixed Variable Efficien-
nical
Technology incl. IDC O&M O&M cy
Available (Year) lifetime
type
(kUSD/ (kUSD/ (USD/M
(%) (Years)
MW) MW) Whel)
Nuclear 2030 - 2050 6,042 20.33 0.15 33% 50
Coal subcritical 2020 - 2029 1,316 39.40 0.70 36% 30
2030 - 2049 1,422 38.20 0.12 36% 30
2050 1,387 37.00 0.12 36% 30
Coal supercritical 2020 - 2029 1,739 41.20 0.12 37% 30
2030 - 2049 1,598 40.00 0.12 38% 30
2050 1,551 38.70 0.11 39% 30

Coal ultra-
2030 - 2049 1,739 54.90 0.11 43% 30
supercritical
2050 1,681 53.20 0.10 44% 30
Coal AUSC 2035 - 2050 2,427 54.90 0.11 50% 30
Coal CCS subcriti-
2030 - 2049 5,049 141.89 2.28 36% 30
cal
2050 4,923 137.43 2.28 36% 30
CCGT 2020 - 2029 881 29.35 0.45 52% 25
2030 - 2049 812 28.50 0.13 59% 25
2050 755 27.60 0.12 60% 25
Small hydro 2020 - 2050 2,057 38.00 0.46 FLHs 50
Wind (Low wind) 2020 - 2024 2,145 50.11 5.20 FLHs 27
2025 - 2029 1,915 47.56 4.92 FLHs 28.5
2030 - 2039 1,687 44.92 4.63 FLHs 30
2040 - 2049 1,518 42.67 4.34 FLHs 30
2050 1,349 40.26 4.04 FLHs 30
Wind (Medium
2020 - 2024 2,049 47.88 4.96 FLHs 27
wind)
2025 - 2029 1,830 45.44 4.70 FLHs 29
2030 - 2039 1,611 42.91 4.43 FLHs 30
2040 - 2049 1,450 40.77 4.15 FLHs 30
2050 1,289 38.46 3.86 FLHs 30
Wind (High wind) 2020 - 2024 1,749 40.86 4.24 FLHs 27
2025 - 2029 1,552 38.54 3.99 FLHs 29
2030 - 2039 1,359 36.18 3.73 FLHs 30
2040 - 2049 1,209 33.99 3.46 FLHs 30
2050 1,064 31.76 3.18 FLHs 30
Solar PV (Low
2020 - 2024 1,247 9.20 - FLHs 25
landcosts)
2025 - 2029 1,095 8.25 - FLHs 25
2030 - 2039 942 7.30 - FLHs 25
2040 - 2049 845 6.75 - FLHs 25
2050 747 6.20 - FLHs 25
Solar PV (High
2020 - 2024 1,333 9.20 - FLHs 25
landcosts)
2025 - 2029 1,177 8.25 - FLHs 25
2030 - 2039 1,021 7.30 - FLHs 25
2040 - 2049 924 6.75 - FLHs 25
2050 826 6.20 - FLHs 25
Geothermal 2020 - 2029 4,675 20.00 0.37 10% 30
2030 - 2049 4,229 18.50 0.34 11% 30
2050 4,229 16.90 0.31 12% 30
Biomass 2020 - 2029 1,892 47.60 3.00 31% 25
2030 - 2049 1,781 43.80 2.80 31% 25
2050 1,558 38.10 2.40 31% 25
MSW 2020 - 2029 9,949 234.70 24.10 28% 25
2030 - 2049 9,263 224.80 23.40 29% 25

2050 8,234 193.50 22.60 29% 25
Tidal 2020 - 2050 2,961 21.75 4.00 FLHs 30
Table 2: Battery investment options. The battery is a Li-ion battery. Battery investments can be
optimized per MWh and per MW independently.
CAPEX CAPEX Fixed Variable

Technical
Available incl. IDC incl. IDC O&M O&M Efficiency
life time
(Year) (kUSD/M (kUSD/M (kUSD/M (USD/MW (%)
(years)
Wh) W) W) h)
Battery 2020 - 2029 270 500 0.62 2.28 91% 20
2030 - 2049 160 300 0.62 2.06 92% 25
2050 90 140 0.62 1.83 92% 30
Table 3: Specific pumped hydro projects. Pumped hydro project can only be invested in with a
fixed ratio between MWh and MW. Ratio indicated in the table per project. Efficiency is as-
sumed 80%.
Maximum
CAPEX incl. Maximum
CAPEX incl. Tur-
Project (Area) IDC Reservoir
IDC bine/Pump MWh/ MW
(kUSD/MWh capacity
(kUSD/MW) capacity
) (MWh)
(MW)
Moc Chau PSPP (North) 92 736 900 7,129 8
Phu Yen East PSPP (North) 62 930 1,200 17,518 15
Phu Yen West PSPP (North) 105 945 1,000 8,502 9
Chau Thon PSPP (North Central) 106 954 1,000 8,502 9
Don Duong PSPP (Highland) 107 963 1,200 10,479 9
Ninh Son PSPP (Highland) 98 882 1,200 10,390 9
Ham Thuan Bac PSPP (South Central) 101 909 1,200 10,390 9
Bac Ai PSPP (South Central) 97 776 1,200 10,104 8
Transmission capacity The model is also able to optimize the transmission capacity between the
different regions. The investment costs for new lines are shown in Fejl! Hen-
visningskilde ikke fundet.. The investment rate of the transmission lines is
taken from the PDP7 revised [6].
Investment costs for each of the transmission line ($/MW/km) are as follows:
- 500kV line: 600$/MW/km
- 220kV line: 850$/MW/km
Based on the distance between regions, the investment cost is estimated in
Fejl! Henvisningskilde ikke fundet..

Table 4: Voltage levels, lengths and investment costs for each transmission line.
Connection Length Investment

Connection
Voltage (kV) (km) cost ($/MW)
North - North Central (1-2) 500 300 180,000
North Central - Centre Central (2-3) 500 350 210,000
Centre Central - Highland (3-4) 500 250 150,000
Centre Central - South Central (4-5) 500 350 210,000
Highland - South (4-6) 500 300 180,000
South Central - South (5-6) 500 250 150,000
Highland - South Central (4-5) 220 150 127,500
3.5 Investment options for end-use technologies

Investment costs for end-use devices modelled in TIMES-Vietnam are collect-
ed from various studies and energy audit reports for local factories and build-
ings. Data for advanced technologies, which are not available yet in Vietnam,
are referred from DEA and USEPA databases.
Industrial subsectors include different end-use demands such as machine

drive, process heat, facility and feedstock. These demand devices can be pro-
vided by standard and improved devices (based on their energy efficiency
performance), which consume alternative fuels. Standard and improve devic-
es feature different investment costs and efficiencies. For demonstration pur-
pose, data for different end-use devices in iron and steel sector are presented
in Table 5.

Table 5: Data for iron and steel subsector, as modelled in TIMES-Vietnam.
(US$2015M)
(US$2015M)
Investment
Fixed O&M
Utilization
Input Fuel
Start Year
Lifetime
Factor
Process / Technology
Feedstock - Anthracite (Hard Coal - Domestic) - Standard Coal - Domestic 2016 30 19.9 3.2 1
Machine Drive - Electricity - Standard Electricity 2016 30 2.2 0.2 1
Facilities/Other - Electricity - Standard Electricity 2016 30 1
Process heat - Anthracite (Hard Coal - Domestic) - Standard Coal - Domestic 2016 30 25.7 3.3 1
Process heat - LPG - Standard LPG 2016 30 22.0 2.9 1
Process heat - Kerosene - Standard Kerosene 2016 30 23.3 3.0 1
Process heat - Diesel - Standard Diesel 2016 30 23.3 3.0 1
Process heat - Fuel Oil - Standard Fuel Oil 2016 30 24.5 3.2 1
Process heat - Natural Gas - Standard Natural Gas 2016 30 22.0 2.9 1
Process heat - Electricity - Standard Electricity 2016 30 23.3 3.0 1
Process heat - Cogen Heat - Standard Cogen Heat 2016 30 22.0 2.9 1
Feedstock - Anthracite (Hard Coal - Domestic) - Improved Coal - Domestic 2018 30 23.9 3.8 1
Machine Drive - Electricity - Improved Electricity 2018 30 2.7 0.3 1
Facilities/Other - Electricity - Improved Electricity 2018 30 1
Process heat - Anthracite (Hard Coal - Domestic) - Improved Coal - Domestic 2018 30 30.8 4.0 1
Process heat - LPG - Improved LPG 2018 30 26.4 3.4 1
Process heat - Kerosene - Improved Kerosene 2018 30 28.0 3.6 1
Process heat - Diesel - Improved Diesel 2018 30 28.0 3.6 1
Process heat - Fuel Oil - Improved Fuel Oil 2018 30 29.4 3.8 1
Process heat - Natural Gas - Improved Natural Gas 2018 30 26.4 3.4 1
Process heat - Electricity - Improved Electricity 2018 30 27.9 3.6 1
Process heat - Cogen Heat - Improved Cogen Heat 2018 30 26.4 3.4 1
Commercial and residential devices are classified into standard, improved and
better types, according to their energy efficiency performance. These devices
feature different investment costs and efficiencies. For demonstration pur-
pose, data for household space cooling are presented in Table 6. In addition,
costs for transport technologies have been now estimated in the TIMES mod-
el. These cost assumptions are used to perform a post calculation to extract
the total cost of the transport sector. All technical details on demand devices
modelled in TIMES-Vietnam are available in the TIMES Data Report (Institute
of Energy, 2019).

Table 6: Data for household space cooling devices, as modelled in TIMES-Vietnam.
Activity / Capac-
Availability Fac-
(US$2015M)
(US$2015M)
Investment
Fixed O&M
Start Year
Efficiency
ity Units
Lifetime
Demand De-
tor
Fuel
vice
Central-Standard PJ / PJa Electricity 2016 15 3.81 40.61 0.85 0.15

Central-Improved PJ / PJa Electricity 2016 15 5.00 42.75 0.85 0.15
Central-Better PJ / PJa Electricity 2016 15 7.57 103.66 2.07 0.15
Room-Standard PJ / PJa Electricity 2016 10 3.21 50.06 0.89 0.15
Room-Improved PJ / PJa Electricity 2016 10 4.00 55.62 1.11 0.15
Room-Better PJ / PJa Electricity 2016 10 5.65 85.11 1.70 0.15
3.6 RE and domestic fuel potentials

Coal and natural gas Vietnam has large coal resources. The utilisation is controlled by law and can-
not exceed the values shown in Figure 13. Even with maximum utilisation the
resource can last for the entire modelling period until 2050. Also, significant
onshore natural gas resources exist (see Figure 14), however these are ex-
pected to decease after 2025. To represent the take-or-pay contracts in place
for natural gas, 95% of the annual domestic natural gas resource available for
the power sector has to be used for electricity generation. For the domestic
coal resource the same restriction is applied to represent coal use contracts
for domestic mines.
500
450
400
350
300
250
PJ
200
150
100
50
0
Coal grade 4b+5 Coal grade 6 Coal grade 7
Figure 13: Maximum domestic coal use (PJ).

350
300
250
200
PJ
150
100
50
South East NG South West NG CVX gas
Figure 14: Maximum domestic natural gas use in South (East and West NG, PJ).
Biomass and waste Biomass potentials for the whole energy system are estimated for the differ-
ent biomass types and the different regions. Domestic biomass potentials are
presented in Table 7.
Table 7: Total biomass potentials (PJ), as modelled in TIMES-Vietnam.
2020 2030 2050

Rice Husk 99.5 111.9 120.9
Municipal Waste 64.3 69.2 90.0
Landfill Gas 0.1 7.0 11.8
Primary Solid Biofuels 366.9 458.1 526.2
Bagasse 51.5 61.4 69.2
Straw 327.8 368.7 398.4
Biogas 0.0 32.8 70.3
Other biomass 248.7 290.8 331.2
Restrictions on biomass-fired power generation capacity have been imple-

mented based on an estimate of biomass resources that could be realistically
used for power generation applications (Viet Nam’s Renewable Energy
Development Strategy up to 2020 with an Outlook to 2050, 2015), as present-
ed in Figure 15.

5,0
4,5
4,0
3,5 South
3,0 South Central
2,5 Highland
GW 2,0 Centre Central
1,5 North Central

1,0 North
0,5
0,0
Rice husk Wood Bagasse Straw Biomass
Figure 15: Resource limits on biomass-fired power generation capacity implemented in the
Balmorel model.
Limitations on the availability of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), have been

implemented (Viet Nam’s Renewable Energy Development Strategy up to
2020 with an Outlook to 2050, 2015), presented in Figure 16. The MSW po-
tential has been based on the urban population in each of the 63 provinces
and the proportion of solid waste assumed to be available for power produc-
tion out of the total. A maximum annual capacity factor of 70% is implement-
ed for power plants using MSW.
1.800
1.600
1.400
1.200
1.000
MW
800
600
400
200
0
North North Central Centre Central Highland South Central South
Figure 16: Resource limits on MSW-fired power plant generation capacity implemented in the
Balmorel model.
Apart from capacity constraints based on official sources, annual fuel con-
straints for bagasse, other biomass types and MSW are inputs to the Balmorel
model found from the optimization of all energy sectors in TIMES.

Onshore wind Based on hourly wind speed data provided by Danish Technical University
Department for Wind power, an hourly wind profile for a normal year has
been computed for three zones for each of the six transmission regions. The
three zones represent areas with low, medium and high wind speed. Also, a
maximum potential per zones has been computed (MOIT, 2019) - see Figure
17.
90
80
70
60
50
High
GW
40
Medium
30 Low
20
10
0
North North Centre Highland South South
Central Central Central
Figure 17: Resource limits on wind generation capacity per region and wind speed class imple-
mented in the Balmorel model. Low: 4.5-5.5 m/s, Medium: 5.5-6 m/s, High: over 6 m/s (all at 80
m height).
Offshore wind Vietnam has offshore areas relevant for offshore wind power. In this study,
the offshore wind areas close to Ninh Thuan (South Central - Figure 18) have
been included as 6 areas, each with a potential of 1000 MW (based on the size
of the area). Each of the 6 areas is modelled with individual wind speed pro-
files (Van Quang Doan et al., 2018). Offshore wind shows much higher wind
speeds compared to onshore wind, (average of 9.73 m/s for the whole area,
with area E having and average wind speed of 10.31 m/s).

Figure 18: Offshore wind potential close to Ninh Thuan (South Central)
Solar The southern parts of Vietnam are endowed with attractive solar resources,
e.g. with full-load hours above 1,600 hours.
Solar irradiation and temperature profiles for five measurement locations are
used from the World Bank solar resource mapping study (World Bank, 2018).
An hourly profile for PV power production has been developed for each of the
six transmission regions. For the North-Central region (only region with no
measuring point for solar irradiation and temperature) the average between
the North region and Centre Central region was used.
The solar potentials are based on the draft Vietnam Renewable Energy Devel-
opment Plan in the period to 2035 (MOIT, 2019). A total potential of 380 GW
divided on the six transmission regions is used (Figure 19). This potential is
based on land use planning (national and provincial), thus considering exclu-
sion of land use for protected areas, forestry land, agriculture, industrial
zones, infrastructure, cultural sites and residential areas. Using the full poten-
tial would occupy 1.6% of the total land area. For the Southern regions, this
number is higher (3.4% for South and 3.7% for Highlands and South Central).
In the Northern regions less than 0.5% of land has potential for solar genera-
tion.

For half of the potential a land cost of 6 USD/m2 is assumed. For the other half
the double land cost is assumed. While the 6 USD/m2 is a concrete evaluation
of land costs for the first solar farms, more information is needed to describe
land costs (and land availability) in a scenario with aggressive solar power
expansion. It should be noted that land costs represent a modest fraction of
the total costs, e.g. 13% and 21% with the high land costs in 2020 and 2050
respectively.
160 1.800
140 1.600
120 1.400
1.200
100
1.000
Hours
GW
80
800
60
600
40 400
20 200
0 0
North North Centre Highland South South
Potential Full load hours
Figure 19: Solar potential and full load hours per region implemented in Balmorel.
Roof-top solar PV is currently not included as an investment option. Roof-top

PV will typically have specific investment costs that are 50-100% higher than
the larger plants and will therefore not be a relevant least-cost solution as
long as utility scale PVs are possible. Roof-top PVs are widely used in many
countries, where investments may be motivated by high feed-in tariffs or high
avoided taxes for off-grid solutions.
3.7 Transmission system – Input from PSS/E modelling

For the transmission grid, input from the grid model PSS/E was used to find
the current net transfer capacity (NTC) of the seven transmission lines be-
tween the 6 transmission regions (Fejl! Henvisningskilde ikke fundet.). These
capacities are based on a detailed representation of the Vietnamese transmis-
sion grid and include N-1 considerations.
The losses on the transmission lines between regions were also calculated for
the seven lines (Table 9). They are shown as percentage and were calculated
at a transmission line load of 80% for each line.

PSS/E modelling of the Balmorel scenarios also resulted in feedback on the
location of power plants seen from a transmission grid perspective rather
than a geographical perspective. Several power plants were re-allocated to
the six transmission regions based on this feedback.
Table 8: Transmission capacity between regions in 2019
MW
North North Central 2.400
North Central Centre Central 4.900
Centre Central Highland 4.400
South Central 400
Highland South Central 800
South 4.600
South Central South 8.500
Table 9: Losses on transmission flow between regions.
Losses on flow
North_Central North 2.3%
Center_Central North_Central 3.2%
Highland Center_Central 1.9%
South_Central Center_Central 0.9%
South Highland 1.4%
South South_Central 3.0%
South_Central Highland 2.1%

4 Energy scenarios
The analyses are built around three sets of scenarios for the Vietnamese en-
ergy system:
 Five core scenarios (covering all sectors)
 Green power scenarios (RE-share and CO2 emission limit)
 Sensitivity analyses
4.1 Core scenarios

The Energy Outlook Report 2019 is planned to have a focus on five core sce-
narios (Figure 20):
 C0 Unrestricted: This scenario simulates a future without any RE tar-
gets, coal restrictions or energy efficiency measures implemented.
 C1 RE Target: This scenario includes an RE target on the power sector,
which corresponds to the current Renewable Energy Development
Strategy10 (REDS) (Figure 21).
 C2 No New Coal: This scenario implements the REDS target and an
additional restriction on investments in new coal-fired power plants
from 2030, after which investments in coal capacity are only allowed
to maintain the domestic coal capacities constant.
 C3 Energy Efficiency: This scenario implements the REDS target and
includes high introduction of energy efficiency measures.
 C4 Combination: This scenario implements the REDS target, the coal
restrictions from 2030 and the energy efficiency measures.
C0 Unrestricted
C1 RE target
C2 No new coal
C3 Energy effciency
C4 Combination
Figure 20: The five core scenarios.
10
Prime Minister’s Decision No 2068/QD-TTg dated on 25 November 2015 on approval of renewable energy
development strategy to 2030, with outlook to 2050

50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
RE target
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 21: REDS RE target implemented in the C1 RE target, C2 No new coal, C3 Energy efficien-
cy and C4 Combination scenarios.
All core scenarios are computed in the combined TIMES-Balmorel setup and
are based on least-cost energy system development under the above men-
tioned constraints.
In TIMES, the scenarios are built based on the base year demands and tech-
nology stocks. All scenarios are to meet the RE targets in REDS but with differ-
ent penetrations of efficient technologies and combined heat and power
(CHP) applications in industries. A more detailed definition of the five core
scenarios as implemented in the TIMES energy system model follows in Table
10, with focus on EE measures.

Table 10: Definition of the five core scenarios in TIMES-Vietnam.
Efficient technologies
Scenario Service demand Policy
and CHP
Efficient demand technolo-
gies (improved and better)
are not allowed in this
scenario. Industrial CHP
C0 Unrestricted Business as usual No policy
technologies are only al-
lowed at penetration rates
of 10-20% of the heat
demand.
are not included in this
scenario. Industrial CHP
C1 RE Target Business as usual REDS
technologies are only al-
lowed at penetration rates
demand.
No new invest- are not included in this
ments in coal scenario. Industrial CHP
C2 No New Coal Business as usual
after 2030 technologies are only al-
(power sector) lowed at penetration rates
demand.
can penetrate up to 50% by
2030 and fully by 2050.
C3 Energy Efficiency Energy efficiency REDS
Industrial CHP technologies
are allowed at penetration
rates of 80% of the heat
demand.
REDS + No new can penetrate up to 50% by
investments in 2030 and fully by 2050.
C4 Combination
coal after 2030 Industrial CHP technologies
(power sector) are allowed at penetration
rates of 80% of the heat
demand.
On the one hand, results from TIMES on annual electricity demand and do-
mestic resource allocations to the power sector are important inputs for Bal-

morel in further investigations of power generation options in power sector.
On the other hand, Balmorel results (i.e. power plant capacities and genera-
tion profiles) are fed back to TIMES to match the regional generation and
transmission constraints.
4.2 Green power scenarios

Additional scenario analyses look into the consequences of different RE shares
or CO2 emission limits in the power sector (Figure 22). Moreover, they assess
how a RE target and CO2 limit will affect the energy system differently. For this
analysis, the Balmorel model is used to compute least-cost expansion for the
Vietnamese generator mix:
 RE shares (RE): a set of five alternatives with varying renewable ener-
gy targets. The scenarios are set by introducing a requirement fora
certain share of RE in the power system by 2050 (the scenarios range
from 40% to 80% RE share in steps of 10 percentage points). For all
scenarios, the target increases linearly between 2020 and 2050 to
reach the required RE share in 2050 (See Figure 23).
o The goal is defined as the share of renewable generation (incl.
hydro) on the national power generation (demand minus im-
port).
o Because of the strong growth in electricity demand, all these
goals are very demanding. The 80% goal is included as an ex-
treme case to illustrate the challenges of the high share of
(variable) renewable energy.
 Emission limit (EL): a set of five alternatives where a CO2 emission
limit is introduced. The limit is equal to the CO2 emission level result-
ing in the above RE share scenarios. Year by year the emission levels
are observed in the renewable energy scenarios and transferred as an
emission limit in the CO2 cap scenarios, as exemplified in Figure 24.

C1 RE target
C1 EL1
(43% RE)
40% RE RE2 EL2
50% RE RE3 EL3
60% RE RE4 EL4
70% RE RE5 EL5
80% RE RE6 EL6
Figure 22: Power system RE share and CO2 cap scenarios.
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Figure 23: The current REDS goal for the share of renewable (dashed line) and the five alterna-
tive goals.

The CO2 emission
is used in a new
Requirement on RE Least cost solution.
simulation as a CO2 A new least cost
share, e.g. 50% by An amount of CO2
emission limit. solution
2050 emitted per year.
Now no
requirement on RE
Figure 24: Result from the RE scenarios is used as input to the CO2 cap scenarios.
5.3. Sensitivity analyses
Sensitivity analyses on some of the most uncertain input parameters are per-
formed (Figure 25):
 Alternatives with high and low fuel prices for imported coal and natu-
ral gas. Two alternative scenarios of imported coal and LNG prices are
calculated referring to the IEA scenarios. The high and low fuel price
scenarios are equivalent with the Current policy scenario and the Sus-
tainable policy scenario.
 Alternative without improvement in UC. The unit commitment of new
power plants in the future will be the same with parameters in 2020.
 Alternative with more expensive investment of battery (High cost Bat-
tery): the investment cost of battery is not reduced in the future and
assumed equal to that in 2020.
 Alternative with lower solar PV resources. Potential parameters of the
base case in the national renewable energy development plan will be
used for sensitivity analysis. In the less PV scenario, the potential of
solar power is expected to fall by more than a half compared to the C1
RE target scenario.
 Alternative with lower output from hydro. For the C1 RE target sce-
nario, hydropower parameters are calculated for normal weather
years. During the dry years, it is necessary to consider the impact of
reduced hydro power output on the national power generation to en-
sure energy supply. In Vietnam, hydropower sources are built on

many different rivers with different hydrological frequencies. Accord-
ing to hydrological studies of the past years, the driest years still have
a hydropower production corresponding to 75% of the total output
potential at national level. Therefore, hydrological parameters at 75%
water frequency of hydropower plants are herein calculated to check
the results of the source capacity structure.
All these scenarios are compared with the C1 RE target scenario.
C1 RE target C1 RE target C1 RE target C1 RE target C1 RE target
High fuel prices No UC High cost Less PV Dry year

improvemen Battery
Low fuel prices
Figure 25: Sensitivity scenarios.
5 Modelling results - Core scenarios

This chapter presents the modelling results for the five core scenarios ana-
lysed in the linked modelling framework using TIMES and Balmorel. The re-
sults cover the whole energy system, from primary resource use to final ener-
gy demand in the end-use sectors, as well as illustrating disaggregated results
for the power sector. The chapter will conclude by comparing the total system
cost and CO2 emissions across the core scenarios.
5.1 Resources
The total primary energy supply (TPES) increase more five times in the period
2014-2050 in the C1 RE target scenario, following from the assumed growth
across all sectors of the economy in Vietnam, thereby increasing from 2713 PJ
in 2014 to around 7600 PJ in 2030, and 14200 PJ in 2050. Energy efficiency
measures implemented in the C3 Energy efficiency scenario help reduce the
primary energy supply by 770 PJ in 2030 (10.2%) and by 3000 PJ in 2050
(21.1%) with respect to C1-RE target scenario. Fossil fuels still account for the
largest share in both scenarios while the renewable energy (RE) share reaches
about 20% of the TPES across scenarios and years. Renewable energy sources
like solar and wind display increasing shares in TPES in future years. TPES in
the five scenarios is shown in Figure 26.

16000 30%
25%
14000 23% 23% 23%
24% 24%
22% 25%
21% 21%
12000 20% 20%
19%
19% 18% 19%
18% 20%
10000 17% 17%
14% 15%
8000 15%
PJ
6000
10%
4000
5%
2000
0 0%
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C1-RE
C1-RE
C1-RE
C1-RE
C3-REEE
C4-RENNCEE
C3-REEE
C4-RENNCEE
C3-REEE
C4-RENNCEE
C3-REEE
C4-RENNCEE
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
2020 2030 2040 2050
Coal Gas Oil Crude
Oil Products Biomass Electricity Import
Hydro Wind Solar
Figure 26: TPES by fuel type and RE share for the five scenarios (PJ).
With the increased trends for TPES, coal will be the main fuel followed by oil.
Therefore, fossil fuels still account for the largest shares in all scenarios, while
the renewable energy (RE) share accounts for about 20% of the TPES. RE share
may increase over 25% in scenarios with no new coal after 2030 (i.e. C2 No
new coal and C4 Combination).
Most domestic fuels are fully utilized in all scenarios (i.e. coal, natural gas,
crude oil and biomass), therefore solar and wind energy, as well as imported
fuels (i.e. oil, coal and LNG), will be central for supplying the demand (Figure
27). Biomass resources are allocated among power generation, industries and
residential uses. The main differences across scenarios are the levels of solar,
wind and imported fuels.

5000
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
PJ 1500
1000
500
0
C1-RE
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C1-RE
C1-RE
C1-RE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
2020 2030 2040 2050
Biomass Coal Gas Hydro Oil Crude Solar Wind
Figure 27: Domestic energy supply in the five core scenarios (PJ).
The effects of energy efficiency activities on the demand side will mainly re-
duce the consumption of fossil fuels like coal and oil, while the development
of solar PV is also affected by the lower electricity demand in the C3 Energy
efficiency. The differences in the primary energy supply by fuel for the two
scenarios C1-RE target and C3 Energy efficiency are shown in Figure 28.
2020 2030 2040 2050
500 0%
-0,9%
0
-5%
-500
PJ
-1000 -10%
-10,2%
-1500
-2000 -15,1% -15%
-2500
-20%
-21,1%
-3000
-3500 -25%
Biomass Coal Electricity Import
Gas Hydro Oil Crude
Oil Products Solar Wind
Percentage change
Figure 28: Differences in TPES by fuel in the scenarios C1 RE target and C3 Energy efficiency (PJ).
If no new coal-fired plants are developed after 2030, imported natural gas will
be the major alternative up to 2030. After that, in the period 2030-2050, a
combination of solar PV, natural gas and wind will substitute the coal use. The

changes between the C1 RE target and C2 No new coal scenarios, as an effect
of the restriction on coal, are shown in Figure 29.
2020 2030 2040 2050

3000 2%
2000 0,3% 0%
1000
-2%
0
PJ
-4%
-1000
-5,4%
-6%
-2000
-7,4%
-8%
-3000
-4000 -10%
-11,2%
-5000 -12%
Biomass Coal Electricity Import
Gas Hydro Oil Crude
Oil Products Solar Wind
Percentage change
Figure 29: Difference in TPES between the C1 RE target and C2 No new coal scenarios (PJ).
Imported coal, oil and gas are needed for supplying the energy system in the
coming decades. Imported coal is mainly used for power generation. Crude oil
and oil products are mainly required for transport activities. Imported LNG
will be valuable for industries as well as power sector especially in the no-new
coal scenarios. Electricity imports are also utilized at their maximum potential.
By 2020, imported fuel dependency will reach around 30% of TPES, and it will
increase quickly to 51% to 61% by 2030, then to 58 to 79% in 2050 across
scenarios. In the C0 Unrestricted scenario, imported fuels will contribute to
almost 80% of TPES by 2050 with very large amount of coal. A combination of
EE efforts and a no new coal policy may reduce reliance on imported fuels to
58% by 2050 with some increases in total system cost (about 3.1% by 2040
and 5.7% by 2050 when comparing C1 RE target with C2 No new coal). Trends
for fuel imports are presented below in Figure 30.

12000 79% 90%
75%
71%
68%
80%
10000 67%
63%
61% 60%
58% 59% 58% 58% 70%
55% 57%
8000 51% 60%
PJ
50%
6000 35% 34% 34%
31% 33% 40%
4000 30%
20%
2000
10%
0 C0-UNR 0%
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C1-RE
C1-RE
C1-RE
C1-RE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
2020 2030 2040 2050
Coal Electricity Gas Oil Crude Oil Products Import share in TPES
Figure 30: Fuel imports across the core scenarios (PJ).
5.2 Demand sectors
Total final energy demand

Following the trend observed for the TPES, the total final energy consumption
(TFEC) will increase by 443% in the period 2014-2050, from 2261 PJ in 2014 to
about 5100 PJ in 2030 and 10000 PJ in 2050 in the C1 RE target scenario. In
this scenario, TFEC will increase by 6.6% p.a. in 2020-2030 and 4.4% p.a. in
2020-2050. In 2020-2030, commercial and industrial sectors have the highest
growth rates of 7.4% p.a. and 7.0% p.a. respectively. For the whole period
2020-2050, the transport sector features the highest growth rate of 5.1% p.a..
In C1 RE target scenario, the industrial sector accounts for about half of TFEC,
increasing to 53.7% of TFEC by 2030 and then reducing to 47.9% of TFEC by
2050. In 2030, the transport sector accounts for 20.4% of TFEC, while the resi-
dential for 17.8%, the commercial for 5.9% and agricultural for 2.2% of TFEC.
The evolution of TFEC in the five analysed scenarios is presented in

12000
10000
8000
6000
PJ
4000
2000
0
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C1-RE
C1-RE
C1-RE
C1-RE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
2020 2030 2040 2050
Agriculture Commercial Industrial Residential Transportation
Figure 31.
12000
10000
8000
6000
PJ
4000
2000
0
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C1-RE
C1-RE
C1-RE
C1-RE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
2020 2030 2040 2050

Agriculture Commercial Industrial Residential Transportation
Figure 31: Final energy consumption by sector in five core scenarios (PJ).
Sectoral energy saving potential

Different sectors feature different levels of energy savings, when compared to
the baseline demand. By 2030, EE measures in the C3 Energy efficiency sce-
nario will reduce the final energy demand by 8.9%, 11.0%, 22.7% and 13.4%
for industrial, commercial, residential and transport sectors with respect to C1
RE target. For comparison, Vietnam Energy Efficiency Program (VNEEP) re-
ported saving achievements of 3.40% during 2006-2010 and 5.65% during
2011-2015. Figure 32 illustrates the energy savings by sector along the ana-
lysed time horizon.

2020 2030 2040 2050
0%
-1%
-5%
-6%
-9%
-10% -7%
-11% -12%
-7%
-13%
-15% -16% -16%
-20% -23% -20%
-24%
-25% -25%
-24% -24%
-30%
Commercial Industrial Residential Transportation
Figure 32: Energy saving by sector as a comparison of C1 RE target and C3 Energy Efficiency
scenarios.
2030 2040 2050 2030 2040 2050

0 0%
-500 -5%
-1000 -10%
-12,2% -12,4%
PJ
-1500 -15%
-16,6% -16,5%
-2000 -19,7% -20%

-19,6%
-2500 Agriculture Commercial -25%

Industrial Residential
Transportation Percentage change
Figure 33: Differences in TFEC by sector in C3 Energy efficiency scenario (left) and C4 Combina-
tion scenario (right) with respect to C1-RE target scenario (PJ).
Figure 34 shows the economic energy saving potential in C3 Energy efficiency

as compared to C1 RE target by end-use and by sector in 2030 and 2050.

2030 2050
Commercial Industrial Residential Transport Commercial Industrial Residential Transport
Industrial - Other Facilities
Industrial - Other Facilities

Industrial - Machine Drive
Industrial - Machine Drive

Industrial - Process Heat
Industrial - Process Heat

Industrial - Feedstock
Industrial - Feedstock
Building Equipment
Building Equipment
Car & Motorcycle
Car & Motorcycle

Water Heating
Water Heating
Water Heating
Water Heating
Space Heating
Space Heating
Space Cooling
Space Cooling
Space Cooling
Space Cooling
Refrigeration
Refrigeration
Commercial
Commercial
Cooking
Cooking
Cooking
Cooking
Lighting
Lighting
Lighting
Lighting
Water
Water
Train
Train
600
500
400
PJ
300
200
100
-100
Figure 34: Economic energy saving potential by end-use and by sector.
In industrial sector, cement, iron & steel, textile and food are main subsectors
for EE improvement. EE measures in heat processes contribute for 61% of the
total energy saved followed by machine drive (20.5%) and facilities (18.3%). in
the period to 2030, EE improvements in process heat in cement, iron & steel,
pulp and paper, food and textile subsectors is the most important area for
realizing energy saving potential. Efficient motors and variable speed drive
(VSD) applications are also important in all subsectors, especially in iron &
steel and textile, for reducing energy consumption. Additionally, efficient
lighting is needed in all subsectors and should be prioritized by industrial fac-
tories. The energy saving potential by industrial subsector is presented in Fig-
ure 35.

2030 2040 2050
100 0%
0 -2%
-100 -4%
-200
-6%
-300
-8%
PJ -400
-8,9% -10%
-500
-12%
-600 -11,6%
-700 -14%
-800 -16%
-900 -16,3% -18%

Beverage Building materials Cement
Chemical Fertilizer Food & Tobacco
Iron & Steel Other Paper Products
Plastics Pulp & Printing Textiles & Leather
Percentage change
Figure 35: Energy saving potential by industrial subsector in C3 Energy efficiency scenario with
respect to C1 RE target scenario.
In the residential sector, efficient cooking, space cooling and lighting are three
main areas for energy improvements. Employment of efficient cook stoves
and fuel switching in rural households are very important for conserving bio-
mass resource uses for cooking. In addition, with the projected cooling de-
mand, penetrations of efficient air conditioners play central role in reducing
energy consumption in residential sector. The energy saving potential by resi-
dential end-use is presented in Figure 36.
2030 2040 2050

0 -22%
-50
-22%
-100
-23%
-150 -22,7%
-200 -23%
PJ
-250 -24%
-23,6%
-300
-24%
-350
-24,5% -25%
-400
-450 -25%
Cooking Lighting
Other Electrical Appliances Refrigeration
Residential Other Applications Space Cooling
Water Heating Percentage change
Figure 36: Energy saving potential by residential end-use in C3 Energy efficiency scenario with

In the commercial sector, lighting is the main area for energy efficiency im-
provements with employment of efficient lighting devices. Space cooling is
also main area for energy saving in commercial sector with installation of effi-
cient air conditioners (Figure 37).
2030 2040 2050

0 0%
-20
-5%
-40
-60 -10%
-11,0%
PJ
-80 -15%
-15,8%
-100
-20,5% -20%
-120
-140 Building Equipment Cooking Lighting -25%

Office Equipment Space Cooling Space Heating
Water Heating Percentage change
Figure 37: Energy saving potential by commercial end-use in C3 Energy efficiency scenario with
In the transport sector road transport is the main area for energy efficiency
improvement with significant contributions from car, motorbike and other
commercial vehicles (bus and truck) mainly due to introductions of higher fuel
economy standards. Detailed measures for transport sector are as below (GIZ,
2018):
 Higher fuel economy standards;
 Modal shift from private to public transport (bus, bus rapid transit,
metro);
 Modal shift from road to waterway and railway;
 Gasoline E10 is used in 2025;
 Electric vehicle: electric two-wheeler accounts for 30% of 2W fleet in
2030, electric car for 33% in 2030, electric bus introduced from 2025
in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City;
 10% new electric bus sales in period 2020-2030;
 Load factor improves from 56% to 65%.
EE activities reduce electricity generation requirements for centralized power

plants by reducing electricity demand and increasing electricity generation
from decentralized power sources (decentralized PV solar and industrial
CHPs). EE activities in the C3 scenario may save total centralized electricity
generation by 9.8% in 2030 and 28.6% in 2050 with respect to C1 scenario.

Decentralized sources may generate up to 2.9% in 2030 and 8.6% in 2050 of
the total electricity demand in the C3 scenario. Biomass and natural gas CHP
applications become economically attractive in industries by providing both
electricity and low-temperature heat (LTH) for industrial uses. Figure 38 de-
picts the effects of EE activities and CHP applications on electricity demand
and electricity generation requirements.
1200 35%
1000 30%
28,6%
25%
800
21,4%
571,8 20%
600
15%
TWh
400 9,8%
265,4 8,6% 10%
200 2,9% 5%
3,8% 5,2%
0 0,1% 0%
2020 2030 2040 2050
Saving Decentralized
Remainder of centralized generation PDP7-R electricity generation
Decentralized share Total percentage reduction
Figure 38: Effects of EE measures and industrial CHPs in C3-REEE scenario with respect to C1-RE
scenario. “Decentralized” consists of approximately 80% industrial CHPs and 20% decentralised
solar PVs.
5.3 System costs and emissions

The total system cost can be broken down into investment cost, fixed opera-
tion and maintenance (O&M) cost, variable O&M cost and fuel cost. Differ-
ences in annual discounted costs for the whole system (supply and demand)
by cost type for the five core scenarios are presented below in Figure 39.

350
300
250
Bn USD 2015
200
150
100
50
0
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C1-RE
C1-RE
C1-RE
C1-RE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C3-REEE
C2-RENNC
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
2020 2030 2040 2050
Variable Fixed O&M Demand investment
Supply investment Fuel Power system
Figure 39: Annual discounted system costs by cost type in five scenarios.
The C3 Energy efficiency scenario assumes high penetration levels of EE tech-

nologies, which allow for all economic energy saving potential to be realized
(penetration rates about 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050). This scenario is also
featured with an increased application of industrial biomass and gas CHPs.
The EE measures introduced in the C3 Energy efficiency scenario can save
system costs annually from 3% to 10.6% in the period 2030-2050 with respect
to C1 RE target scenario. Even though additional investment occurs for EE
technologies, a large amount of fuel costs can be saved, thus resulting in an
overall reduction of the total system cost. Figure 40 presents the effects of EE
measures on system cost by cost type in the C3 Energy efficiency scenario, as
compared to the C1 RE target scenario.

2020 2030 2040 2050
20 0%
15
10 -0,9% -2%
5
0 -4%
Billion USD (2015) -5
-6%
-10
-4,6%
-15 -8%
-20
-25 -10%
-30 -9,4%
-35 -11,2% -12%
Variable O&M Fixed O&M
Demand investment Supply investment
Fuel Percentage change
Figure 40: Changes in annual discounted system cost in C3 Energy efficiency compared to C1 RE
target.
In the C1 RE target scenario, CO2 emissions from the energy sector are in-
creasing quickly at 7.4% p.a. in 2020-2030 and 4.4% p.a. in the whole period
of 2020-2050. Power generation is the main contributor for the increased CO2
emissions followed by industrial and transport sectors. Figure 41 reports the
trends for CO2 emissions from the energy sector across the analysed scenari-
os.
1200
1000
800
Million tons CO2
600
400
200
0
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C0-UNR
C1-RE
C1-RE
C1-RE
C1-RE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C4-RENNCEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C3-REEE
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
C2-RENNC
2020 2030 2040 2050

Agriculture Commercial Industry Power Sector
Residential Supply Transport
Figure 41: Trends for CO2 emissions by sector in all five scenarios.

Coal use contributes from 65% to 75% of total CO2 emissions from the whole
energy system in different scenarios. Annual CO2 emissions in the C0 Unre-
stricted scenario are 5% to 10% higher in 2020-2030, and 20% to 30% higher
in 2040-2050, as compared to the C1 RE target scenario. This implies the ne-
cessity for fulfilling the RE targets as set out in REDS for reducing GHG emis-
sions in the energy system.
In the C3 Energy efficiency scenario, EE measures can reduce the CO2 emission
growth rate in 2020-2050 from 4.4% p.a. in C1 RE target scenario to 3.6% p.a..
CO2 emission reductions are mainly obtained in the power and transport sec-
tor. Figure 42 shows the CO2 emission reduction by sector achieved in the C3
Energy efficiency scenario with respect to the C1 RE target scenario.
2030 2040 2050 2030 2040 2050 2030 2040 2050

50 0%
0 -5%
-50 -10% -10%
-100 -16% -15%
-17%
-19%
Mt CO2
-150 -20% -20%

-23%
-200 -25% -25%
-250 -31% -30%
-300 -35%
-350 -39%
-40%
-400 -45%
Agriculture Commercial Industry
Power Sector Residential Supply
Transport Percentage change
Figure 42: CO2 emission reduction by sector in C3 Energy efficiency scenario (left) and C4 Combi-
nation scenario (right) with respect to C1 RE target scenario.
In the draft updated BAU by MONRE (GIZ, 2018), the total GHG emissions
from the energy sector equal 643 MtCO2eq. By 2030, CO2 emissions in C1 RE
target and C3 Energy efficiency scenarios are 521 and 443 MtCO2. As com-
pared to the MONRE’s BAU emissions, CO2 emission reductions with REDS’s
RE targets can fulfill the unconditional target of 8%. Moreover, the RE target
and the additional EE efforts in C3 Energy efficiency can fulfill the conditional
target of 25%. Table 11 compares the emissions across scenarios with the NDC
targets.

Table 11: CO2 emissions in the scenarios in comparison with NDC-BAU and mitigation scenarios.
Reduction Percentage reduc-

Emissions in
Scenario compared to tion compared to
2030 (Mt)
NDC-BAU (Mt) NDC-BAU (%)
C1 RE target 520 123 19%
C2 No new coal 468 175 27%
C3 Energy efficiency 438 205 32%
C4 Combination 424 219 34%
NDC-BAU 643 0 0%
NDC-Unconditional 8% 592 51 8%
NDC-Conditional 25% 482 161 25%
5.4 Detailed results for the power sector

Based on the electricity demand and the biomass allocation to the power sec-
tor from TIMES, detailed analyses have been performed with Balmorel for the
power sector. This is done with more details (i.e. 6 regions, 6 demand profiles,
18 wind speed profiles, 6 solar profiles, and 364 time-steps) and the results
reflect to a higher degree the challenges with the variable generation, e.g.
from wind and solar power.
Figure 43 shows the generation capacity for the five core scenarios. In all sce-
narios (also the C0 Unrestricted scenario), large investments in solar, wind and
batteries take place, indicating that these technologies represent the socio-
economic least-cost solution for the expansion of the generation capacity.
The annual generation is shown in Figure 44. In 2050, 43% of the generation
comes from renewable sources in the C1 RE target scenario, hereof 23% solar,
9% hydro, 7% onshore and 3% offshore wind. The remaining generation is
mostly domestic and imported coal-based. In the C0 Unrestricted scenario,
only 37% of the generation is renewable. The C2 No new coal scenario has a
higher RE share of 50% and high shares of LNG generation coming in after
2030 (up to 32% by 2050). In the C4 Combination scenario the RE share is
even higher (59%) due to the lower power demand by energy efficiency.
The regional generation shown in Figure 45 (C1 RE target) shows that most of
the generation takes place in the North and the South regions, which are the
largest demand centres. Northern generation is mainly coal-based, comple-
mented with hydro and small shares of biomass generation. Southern genera-
tion sees more wind, solar and natural gas generation.

From 2030, investments in batteries appear in the power system. Although
pumped hydro is also an investment option, batteries are a more attractive
investment option when considering balancing investment costs and efficien-
cy results. In the C1 RE target scenario, 68 GW of batteries are installed in
2050 (Table 12). The batteries have a relatively small storage capacity (MWh)
compared to the charging/generating capacity (MW): 1.5-3.5 MWh/MW. This
factor is optimised by the model.
400
350 Battery
300 Solar
Wind offshore
250
Wind
GW
200
Hydro
150
Other RE
100
Biomass
50
Oil
0 Imp. LNG
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C3 RE+EE
C3 RE+EE
C3 RE+EE
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C3 RE+EE
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C0 Unrestricted
C0 Unrestricted
C0 Unrestricted
C0 Unrestricted
Dom. NG
Imp. coal
Dom. coal
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 43: Generation capacity power sector in the five core scenarios.

1.200
Import 3rd
Battery
1.000
Solar
800 Wind offshore
Wind
TWh 600
Hydro
400 Other RE
Biomass
200
Oil
0 Imp. LNG
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C3 RE+EE
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C3 RE+EE
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C3 RE+EE
C3 RE+EE
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C0 Unrestricted
C0 Unrestricted
C0 Unrestricted
C0 Unrestricted
Dom. NG
-200
Imp. coal
Dom. coal
2020 2030 2040 2050 Demand
Figure 44: Annual electricity generation, import from 3rd countries and power demand (including
transmission and distribution losses) in the five core scenarios. Negative values for batteries
represent the loss in the batteries.
600
Import 3rd
500 Battery
Solar
400 Wind offshore
Wind
300
Hydro
TWh
Other RE
200
Biomass
100 Oil
Imp. LNG
0 Dom. NG
2040
2040
2020
2020
2040
2020
2040
2020
2020
2040
2020
2040
Imp. coal
-100
North North Centre Highland South South Dom. coal
transmission and distribution losses) per region for the C1 RE Target scenario. Negative values
for batteries represent the loss in the batteries.

Table 12: Battery capacities in the five core scenarios.
Charging and
Storage
Year CaseName generation GWh/GW
capacity (GWh)
capacity (GW)
2030 C0 Unrestricted 4 7 1.68
C1 RE target 4 7 1.68
C2 No new coal 7 12 1.68
C3 Energy efficiency 3 4 1.68
C4 Combination 2 3 1.68
C1 RE target 20 44 2.20
C2 No new coal 21 46 2.17
C1 RE target 74 205 2.77
C2 No new coal 93 270 2.90
Figure 46 shows the CO2 emissions in the five core scenarios. The C1 RE target
scenario has an emission level that is 14% lower in compared to the C0 Unre-
stricted scenario in 2050. In the C2 No new coal and the C4 Combination sce-
narios the emissions are 47% and 34% of the C0 Unrestricted scenario respec-
tively. However, the system costs are also the highest in the C2 No new coal
scenario with about 15% increase compared to the C0 Unrestricted scenario in
2050 (Figure 47). The C1 RE target has a cost increase of 6% compared to C0
Unrestricted. The energy efficiency scenarios have lower total costs for the
power sector as the demand which needs to be supplied is lower.

600
500
400
Mt
300 Oil
Imp. LNG
200
Dom. NG
100 Imp. coal
Dom. coal
0
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C3 RE+EE
C3 RE+EE
C3 RE+EE
C3 RE+EE
C2 RE+NNC
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C0 Unrestricted
C1 RE target
C0 Unrestricted
C0 Unrestricted
C0 Unrestricted
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 46: CO2 emissions from the power sector in the five core scenarios.
80
70
60
50
Billion USD
Start-up costs
40
Fuel cost
30
Variable O&M
20
Fixed O&M
10
Capital cost gen.
0 Capital cost trans.
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C4 RE+NNC+EE
C3 RE+EE
C3 RE+EE
C3 RE+EE
C3 RE+EE
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C1 RE target
C2 RE+NNC
C0 Unrestricted
C0 Unrestricted
C0 Unrestricted
C0 Unrestricted
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 47: System costs for the power sector in the five core scenarios.
Figure 48 and Figure 49 show examples of the hourly dispatch of the power
system in 2020 and 2050 for a low and a high demand week respectively. It
can be seen how batteries and solar power interact.
The scale of the generation increases strongly between 2020 and 2050 due to
much larger power demand. In the low demand week in 2050, some curtail-
ment takes place during peak solar hours, where the capacity of the batteries
is maxed out.

35
Curtailment
30 Import 3rd
Battery
25
Solar
GW
20 Wind offshore
Wind
15 Hydro
Other RE
10
Biomass
5 Imp. LNG
Dom. NG
0
Imp. coal
T065
T073
T081
T089
T097
T001
T009
T017
T025
T033
T041
T049
T057
T105
T113
T121
T129
T137
T145
T153
T161
200
Curtailment
Import 3rd
150
Battery
Solar
100
Wind offshore
Wind
GW
50
Hydro
Other RE
0
Biomass
T046
T127
T001
T010
T019
T028
T037
T055
T064
T073
T082
T091
T100
T109
T118
T136
T145
T154
T163
Imp. LNG
-50
Dom. NG
Imp. coal
-100
Figure 48: Hourly dispatch in the C1 RE target scenario. Week 4 (low demand). Above 2020 and
below 2050.

40
35
Import
30
Solar
25 Wind
Hydro
GW
20 Other RE
Biomass
15
Dom. NG
10 Imp. coal
Dom. coal
5 Demand
0
T001
T009
T017
T025
T033
T041
T049
T057
T065
T073
T081
T089
T097
T105
T113
T121
T129
T137
T145
T153
T161
200 Import
Battery
150 Solar
Wind
offshore
100
Wind
Hydro
GW
50
Other RE
Biomass
0
T046
T127
T001
T010
T019
T028
T037
T055
T064
T073
T082
T091
T100
T109
T118
T136
T145
T154
T163
Imp. LNG
Dom. NG
-50
Imp. coal
-100 Dom. coal
Figure 49: Hourly dispatch in the C1 RE target scenario. Week 39 (high demand). Above 2020
and below 2050.
6 Modelling results – Green power scenarios

Wind and solar power represent a new type of generation. Dramatic cost re-
ductions make investments in these power technologies realistic, allowing a
significant contribution from these sources in the power mix. The varying
generation from wind and solar is different from traditional generation used
in Vietnam. This chapter will analyse the interaction between wind and solar
and the other generation technologies, by presenting the modelling results of
the designed scenarios.

6.1 Renewable energy scenarios
Five additional scenarios are analysed and compared to the C1 RE Target sce-
nario. The scenarios have requirements from 40% to 80% (steps of 10%) be-
tween 2030 and 2050. Figure 50 shows that the least-cost solution to fulfil the
requirements comprises an extensive investment in solar power and batteries
while wind power plays a lesser role and LNG is not utilised.
For wind power, mainly sites with high and medium wind speeds are used. No
investment takes place in low wind speed area in any of the scenarios despite
the model having the opportunity to invest wind turbines designed for low
wind speeds. In all RE scenarios all six available offshore wind farms are built
by 2050. From the RE3 50pct scenario and higher RE shares, the assumed off-
shore potential is already all used by 2040.
The reason for LNG not being utilised is that after having fulfilled the RE target
it is cheaper to invest in coal power plants based on imported coal. Therefore,
LNG is not relevant in a least-cost solution for these scenarios.
700
Battery
600
Solar
500
Wind offshore
400 Wind
GW
Hydro
300
Other RE
200 Biomass
100 Oil
Imp. LNG
0
Dom. NG
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
Imp. coal
Dom. coal
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 50: Generation capacity for C1 RE target and the five RE share scenarios.
Figure 51 shows the electricity generation per type. The potential hydro and
other renewable sources (biomass, geothermal, tidal) are quickly fully ex-
hausted, and only wind and solar power is left to fulfil the renewable energy
requirements.

As more renewable energy enters the system, the use of imported coal is re-
duced. The fuel costs related to imported coal decrease as a higher share of
renewable power is incorporated in the system (Figure 52).
1.200
Import 3rd
1.000 Battery
Solar
800
Wind offshore
Wind
600
TWh
Hydro
400 Other RE
Biomass
200
Oil
0 Imp. LNG
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
Dom. NG
-200 Imp. coal
Dom. coal
2020 2030 2040 2050 Demand
transmission and distribution losses) in C1 RE target and the five RE share scenarios. Negative
values for batteries represent the loss in the batteries.
20
18
16
14
12
Billion USD
10
8 Oil
6 Imp. LNG
4 Imp. coal
2
0
C1 RE target
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
C1 RE target
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
C1 RE target
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
C1 RE target
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 52: Costs for fuel import C1 RE target and the five RE share scenarios.
Figure 53 shows the CO2 emissions in the six scenarios. While the C1 RE target
scenario ends at 469 Mt in 2050, the renewable energy scenarios significantly

reduce the emissions, i.e. to 161 Mt (66% reduction) in the most ambitious
scenario. Note that these results on CO2 emissions are used to define the CO2
emission limits in the Emission limit scenarios (Section 7.2).
600
500
400
Oil
Mt
300
Imp. LNG
200 Dom. NG
Imp. coal
100
Dom. coal
0
C1 RE target
RE2 40pct
RE3 50pct
RE4 60pct
RE5 70pct
RE6 80pct
C1 RE target
RE2 40pct
RE3 50pct
RE4 60pct
RE5 70pct
RE6 80pct
C1 RE target
RE2 40pct
RE3 50pct
RE4 60pct
RE5 70pct
RE6 80pct
C1 RE target
RE2 40pct
RE3 50pct
RE4 60pct
RE5 70pct
RE6 80pct
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 53: CO2 emissions in C1 RE target and the five RE share scenarios.
Figure 54 shows the total system costs in the different scenarios11. The costs
are heavily influenced by the growth in electricity demand. This result is a
consequence of the investment in wind and solar, where capital costs domi-
nate and where there are no fuel costs. The specific system costs (USD/MWh)
are increasing over time in all scenarios (also in RE target). The increase in fuel
costs and the shift to renewable energy are the main drivers behind this de-
velopment.
11Total system costs include the six elements: Capital cost for new generation and transmission
(computed as annualized costs), Fixed and variable O&M costs, fuel costs and start-up costs.
Note that cost of existing and committed generation and transmission is not included (same
amount for all scenarios). The capital costs are annualised based on the discount factor of 10%
and 20 year economic lifetime (annuity factor of 0.1175).

90
80
70
60
Billion USD
50 Start-up costs
Fuel cost
40
Variable O&M
30
Fixed O&M
20
Capital cost gen.
10
Capital cost trans.
0
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 54: Total system costs in C1 RE target and the five RE share scenarios.
90
80
70
60
USD/MWh
50 Start-up costs
Fuel cost
40
Variable O&M
30
Fixed O&M
20
Capital cost gen.
10
Capital cost trans.
0
C1 RE target
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
C1 RE target
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
C1 RE target
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
C1 RE target
RE3 50pct
RE5 70pct
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 55: Total system cost per MWh in C1 RE target and the five RE share scenarios.

140
120
100
80
GW
60
40
20
0
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
RE2 40pct
RE3 50pct
RE4 60pct
RE5 70pct
RE6 80pct
RE2 40pct
RE3 50pct
RE4 60pct
RE5 70pct
RE6 80pct
RE2 40pct
RE3 50pct
RE4 60pct
RE5 70pct
RE6 80pct
RE2 40pct
RE3 50pct
RE4 60pct
RE5 70pct
RE6 80pct
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 56: Transmission capacity in C1 RE target and the five RE share scenarios. The figure
shows the sum of the capacity of the seven transmission lines.
Table 13 shows the transmission capacity for selected years and scenarios as
well as an estimated maximum capacity (limit) for each of the seven lines. It
can be seen that the 40% scenario is within these limits. For the more ambi-
tious scenarios (60 and 80%) the result for transmission capacities is seriously
over the estimated maximum capacity for four lines (a factor 3-4 for the 80%
scenario). It must be investigated if it is possible to increase the transmission
capacity beyond what is now considered at a realistic maximum – or what
measures can be taken to solve the conflict.
Table 13: Transmission capacities for selected years and scenarios. The last column indicates the
realistic maximum capacity. Numbers in red exceed the maximum value.
MW RE2 40 pct RE4 60 pct RE6 80 pct Estimated

Max
Region From Region To 2040 2050 2040 2050 2040 2050
capacity
North North Central 8,438 8,438 12,709 12,709 24,227 30,341 10,000
North Central Centre Central 8,394 9,513 13,343 17,079 25,424 35,509 10,000
Centre Central Highland 6,000 7,277 9,557 14,229 23,940 30,422 16,000
South Central 3,349 3,349 5,244 5,244 3,714 6,952 -
Highland South Central 1,018 1,018 1,018 1,018 1,018 1,018 18,000
South 10,798 10,798 13,733 13,916 11,089 11,089 10,000
South Central South 12,132 12,132 15,751 15,751 14,843 14,843 18,000
6.2 CO2 emission limit

Based on the level of CO2 emissions in the RE share scenarios, a new set of
scenarios are analysed. The CO2 emissions from the RE share scenarios (see

Figure 53) are used as an emission limit on CO2. Since there are other ways of
reducing CO2 than renewable energy (e.g. fuel shift from coal to natural gas),
the new set of scenarios will illustrate the same CO2 reduction, but potentially
with a different energy mix.
Figure 57 and Figure 58 show the generation capacity (GW) and the genera-
tion (TWh) in the new set of scenarios. The main difference with the previous
set of scenarios is that significant investments take place in 2040 and 2050 to
utilise LNG. There is lower solar power and battery capacity, as well as less
imported and domestic coal. On an overall level the results show that to
achieve CO2 reduction, replacing coal with LNG can be cost-effective com-
pared to PV and batteries in some places of Vietnam. The LNG capacity is lo-
cated near the demand centres in the North and the South regions.
600
Battery
500
Solar
400 Wind offshore
Wind
GW
300
Hydro
Other RE
200
Biomass
100 Oil
Imp. LNG
0
Dom. NG
EL1 RE target
EL3 50pct
EL5 70pct
EL1 RE target
EL3 50pct
EL5 70pct
EL1 RE target
EL3 50pct
EL5 70pct
EL1 RE target
EL3 50pct
EL5 70pct
Imp. coal
Dom. coal
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 57: Generation capacity for the six CO2 emission limit (EL) scenarios.

1.200
Import 3rd
1.000 Battery
Solar
800
Wind offshore
600
Wind
TWh
400 Hydro
Other RE
200
Biomass
0 Oil
EL1 RE target
EL3 50pct
EL5 70pct
EL1 RE target
EL3 50pct
EL5 70pct
EL1 RE target
EL3 50pct
EL5 70pct
EL1 RE target
EL3 50pct
EL5 70pct
-200 Imp. LNG
Dom. NG
Imp. coal
2020 2030 2040 2050
transmission and distribution losses) in the six CO2 emission limit scenarios. Note: The negative
generation from batteries is the net loss.
Figure 59 shows that the share of renewable energy is, as expected, lower
than in the first set of scenarios. For example, in the most ambitious scenario
(i.e. 80% RE-share scenario) the fulfilled RE target corresponds to an 80%
share of renewables in the total generation, but an RE share of only 74% RE is
achieved in the corresponding CO2 scenario (for the year 2050).

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL1 RE target
EL1 RE target
EL1 RE target
EL1 RE target
2020 2030 2040 2050
RE Conventional RE share scenarios
Figure 59: Share of renewable energy in C1 RE target and the five CO2 emission limit scenarios.
The red marks represent the RE-share goals in the corresponding renewable energy scenarios
(see section 7.1). This goal is not active in the CO2 scenarios.
Figure 60 shows the annual CO2 emissions. The total emission level is the
same as in Figure 53. However, the emissions from coal have been reduced,
while more emissions come from LNG in the most ambitious scenarios. The
CO2 shadow values for the emission limit scenarios are shown in Figure 61.
The shadow values range between 2.5 and 60.5 USD/t for all emission limit
scenarios. Despite growing power demand and increasing RE target, by 2050,
reasonable CO2 shadow values are still seen (between 2.5 and 55.5 USD/t).

600
500
400
Oil
Mt
300
Imp. LNG
200
Dom. NG
100 Imp. coal

Dom. coal
0
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL1 RE target
EL1 RE target
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL1 RE target
EL1 RE target
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 60: CO2 emissions in the six CO2 emission limit scenarios.
70
60
50 EL1 RE target
EL2 40pct
40
USD/t
EL3 50pct
30 EL4 60pct
20 EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
10
0
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 61: CO2 shadow values for the six CO2 emission limit scenarios.

As shown in Figure 63, increasingly ambitious limits on CO2 emissions results
in larger total system costs. To a large extent, the increase in cost comes from
investments in more wind and solar capacity. Unlike the RE share scenarios,
there is no large decrease in fuel costs in the CO2 emission limit scenarios, as
more expensive LNG is imported (Figure 63).
80
70
60
50
Billion USD
Start-up costs
40
Fuel cost
30 Variable O&M
20 Fixed O&M
10 Capital cost gen.

Capital cost trans.
0
EL1 RE target
EL3 50pct
EL5 70pct
EL3 50pct
EL5 70pct
EL1 RE target
EL1 RE target
EL3 50pct
EL5 70pct
EL1 RE target
EL3 50pct
EL5 70pct
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 62: Total system costs in the six CO2 emission limit scenarios.
20
18
16
14
Billion USD
12
10
8 Oil
6 Imp. LNG
4 Imp. coal
2
0
EL2 40pct
EL1 RE target
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL1 RE target
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL1 RE target
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL1 RE target
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 63: The costs of imported fuels in the six CO2 emission limit scenarios.

While CO2 emissions decrease to the same extent as in the RE share scenarios,
Figure 63 shows that the drawback of the emission limit scenarios is a large
dependence on imported fuels, with high LNG costs as a result.
200
180
160
140
120
TWh
100
80
Imp. LNG
60
Dom. NG
40
20
0
EL1 RE target
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL1 RE target
EL1 RE target
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
EL1 RE target
EL2 40pct
EL3 50pct
EL4 60pct
EL5 70pct
EL6 80pct
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 64: Electricity generated by natural gas and LNG in the six CO2 emission limit scenarios.
6.3 Comparison of the two sets of scenarios

Figure 65 shows the total power system cost versus the CO2 emissions in the
two sets of scenarios for 2050. The total cost is increasing, when the CO2
emission is decreased. In the most ambitious renewable energy scenario
(80%) the CO2 emission is reduced with 66% compared to the C1 RE target
scenario - and this comes at a cost of 25% increase in total yearly costs in
2050. The same CO2 reduction can be achieved in the CO2 cap scenario, but at
a reduced increase in cost: 20%.

90
RE target
80
Emission limit
70
60 C2 RE+NNC
C0 Unrestricted
Billion USD
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Mt CO2 emissions
Figure 65: Comparison of total yearly costs and CO2 emission in the two sets of Green power
scenarios , the C0 Unrestricted scenario and the C2 No new coal in year 2050.
90
RE target
80
Emission limit
70
60 C2 RE+NNC
C0 Unrestricted
Billion USD
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Fuel import (Billion USD)
Figure 66: Comparison of total yearly costs and fuel imports in the two sets of Green power
scenarios, the C0 Unrestricted scenario and the C2 No new coal in year 2050.

7 Model results - Sensitivity analyses
In this chapter, some parameters will be varied to analyse sensitivity. The
results will show how the least-cost solution will change when these inputs
are changed, i.e. generation capacity per fuel and the scale of the transmis-
sion capacity.
7.1 Sensitivity analysis on fuel prices

In the near future, the potential of domestic fuels (coal, gas and biomass) and
hydropower will be fully utilised, and the ability to import electricity from
neighbouring countries is limited. Therefore, with increased electricity de-
mand, the power system will to an increasing extent be based on imported
fuels like coal or LNG. Fuel prices of imported coal and LNG is difficult to fore-
cast (see Figure 11 for historical coal price prognoses). In this section, it is
investigated how an alternative forecasted fuel price of imported coal and
LNG may influence investment decisions.
Two alternative scenarios of imported coal and LNG prices are calculated
(Figure 67). The other fuel prices, including the domestic prices are assumed
the same as in the C1 RE target scenario.
 High fuel scenario: Fuel price of imported coal and LNG in period to
2030-2050 will be higher than in the C1 RE target scenario. The high
price scenario is equivalent with the forecasted fuel prices in the Cur-
rent policy scenario of fuel price projection report (referring to the IEA
scenario with the highest price) (Ea Energy Analyses and Institute of
Energy, 2019).
 Low fuel scenario: Fuel price of imported coal and LNG in period to
2030, 2050 will be lower than in the C1 RE target scenario. The prices
of imported coal and LNG are equivalent with the forecasted fuel
prices in the Sustainable policy scenario of fuel price projection report
(referring to the IEA scenario with the lowest price).

14
12
LNG - C1 RE target
10
LNG- High fuel
USD/GJ
8 LNG - Low fuel
6 Imported coal - C1
RE target
4 Imported coal - High
fuel
2 Imported coal - Low
fuel
0
2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050
Figure 67: Forecasted imported coal and LNG prices to power plant in 3 scenarios (Source: Long-
term fuel price projections for Vietnam, EaEA, 2019).
Results
The renewable energy requirement exists for all years: 32% in 2030, 37.6% in
2040, 43% in 2050, and is the same in C1 RE target scenario, the High fuel
scenario and Low fuel scenario. The energy mix is to a high degree guided by
the renewable energy requirement – and only to a lesser extent by the fuel
price. In 2030, it follows what would generally be expected: higher fuel price,
higher RE share. With low fuel price, the installed capacity of imported coal
increases compared to the C1 RE target and High fuel scenarios, whereas the
installed capacity of renewable energy (solar, wind…) decreases with lower
fuel price. This is consistent with least-cost optimal solution. However, in year
2040, 2050 the change is not very large because of RE requirement.

350
300
Battery
250
Solar
200 Wind
GW
Hydro
150
Other RE
100
Oil
50 Imp.LNG
Dom.Gas
0
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
Imp.Coal
Low fuel
Low fuel
Low fuel
High fuel
Low fuel
High fuel
High fuel
High fuel
Dom.Coal
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 68: Installed capacity by power source type in the alternative fuel price scenarios.
In 2030, imported coal reaches 27.3 GW in C1 RE target scenario, increasing to

28.2 GW in low fuel scenario, and decreasing to 26.3 GW in high fuel scenario.
Comparing with the C1 RE target and Low fuel scenario, the capacity of solar
in the High fuel scenario increases about 3 GW in 2030.
In 2050, capacity of renewable energy is changed little between scenarios
because of RE requirement. However, comparing with C1 RE target scenario,
the capacity of coal reduces about 2 GW and capacity of battery increase
about 3 GW in the High fuel scenario, the capacity of imported coal increases
1.5 GW and capacity of battery reduce 1 GW in the Low fuel scenario.
The renewable energy requirement exists for all years: 32% in 2030, 37.5% in
2040, 43% in 2050. In 2030, the C1 RE target and High fuel price scenarios are
over fulfilling the RE requirement (33% for C1 RE target and 35% for High
fuel), and the renewable energy requirement is not binding. For the Low fuel
price scenario, however, the requirement is binding and renewable energy
capacity is added to fulfil the requirement.
The results for 2040 and 2050 all have the renewable energy share equal to
the requirement, independent of the fuel price. For these years, the energy
mix is to a high degree guided by the renewable energy requirement – and
only to a lesser extent by the fuel price.

1.000
800
Battery
Solar
600
Wind
Hydro
TWh 400
Other RE
Oil
200
Imp.LNG
Dom.Gas
0
Imp.Coal
C1 RE target
Low fuel
C1 RE target
Low fuel
C1 RE target
High fuel
Low fuel
C1 RE target
High fuel
Low fuel
High fuel
High fuel
Dom.Coal
-200
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 69: Electricity generation by power source type in the alternative fuel price scenarios.
In 2050, the significant change in energy generation mix is lower generation of

coal and higher generation of gas in the High fuel scenario. About 7 TWh of
coal in C1 RE target scenario will be replaced by domestic gas and LNG of High
fuel scenario.
GW
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Highland
Highland
South_Central
South_Central
Center_Central
Center_Central
North_Central
North North_CentralCenter_Central South South_Central Highland South
C1 RE target High fuel Low fuel
Figure 70: Transmission capacity between regions in the alternative fuel price scenarios in 2050.
The transmission capacity change between scenarios is not major. That is be-
cause the solution is controlled by the renewable energy requirement. The
largest change occurs in the interface between Centre Central and North Cen-

tral in the Low fuel scenario with 0.8 GW transmission capacity higher than C1
RE target and High fuel scenarios, due to higher imported coal in the South in
the Low fuel scenario.
70
60
50
Billion USD
40 Start-up costs (m$)
Fuel Cost (m$)
30
Variable O&M (m$)
20
Fixed O&M (m$)
10 Capital Trans. Cost (m$)
Capital Cost (new units) (m$)
0
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
High fuel
Low fuel
Low fuel
Low fuel
Low fuel
High fuel
High fuel
High fuel
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 71: Total system cost in the alternative fuel price scenarios.
The result of total system cost shows that the fuel price mainly affects fuel
cost. However, capital cost is lowered slightly in the Low Fuel price scenario.
The capital cost will be higher with higher fuel price scenario.
In conclusion, the fuel price variation on imported coal and LNG will affect the
decisions to a small degree about development capacity of imported coal,
domestic coal, domestic gas, renewable energy and batteries. Because the
renewable energy requirement is set in all scenarios, the solution is controlled
by the RE requirement, so the generation capacity change between scenarios
is not very large.
7.2 Sensitivity analysis on UC

When carrying out the modelling of capacity expansion, the operational re-
strictions of the generating unit (coal thermal, CCGT and biomass) are includ-
ed, known as unit commitment (UC). These following UC parameters present
the flexibility of technology generation unit: Start-up cost, minimum genera-
tion, fixed fuel use, minimum up/down time and ramp rate (up and down).
As shown in the Vietnamese Technology Catalogue (EREA, DEA, Institute of
Energy and Ea Energy Analyses, 2019), currently the flexibility of technologies
in Vietnam is quite low, e.g. subcritical pulverised coal thermal plants have a
minimum load of 67% in average, while international design could reach lower

than 25%. In the future, Vietnamese data are expected to converge to better
values around the international level (e.g: for coal subcritical technology, the
minimum load is expected to be 25% in 2030 and 20% in 2050).
Table 14: Parameters of Unit Commitment used in Balmorel modelling.
Fixed Min Min

Unit Start-up Ramp
Pmin fuel up down
No. Technology size cost up/down
(%) use time time
(MW) (USD/MW) (%/min)
(%) (h) (h)
2020
1 Subcritical 600 67% 180 45% 1% 4 2
2 Supercritical 600 75% 180 45% 1% 4 2
3 CCGT 250 56% 131 42% 7% 4 2

4 Biomass 55 38% 180 45% 4% 4 2
2030
1 Subcritical 600 25% 180 45% 4% 4 2
2 Supercritical 600 25% 180 45% 4% 4 2
Ultra super-
3 critical 600 25% 180 45% 5% 4 2
4 CCGT 250 30% 131 42% 20% 4 2
5 Biomass 25 30% 180 45% 10% 4 2
2050
1 Subcritical 600 20% 180 45% 4% 4 2
2 Supercritical 600 20% 180 45% 4% 4 2
Ultra super-
3 critical 600 20% 180 45% 5% 4 2
4 CCGT 250 15% 131 42% 20% 4 2
5 Biomass 25 30% 180 45% 10% 4 2
For the sensitivity analyses, to check the influence of flexibility characteristics

to power generation expansion, a scenario with no improvements in UC pa-
rameters is calculated. In this case, all UC parameters in the next period up to
2050 will be the same as in 2020.
Results
The result shows that the impact of no improvement of unit commitment to

the generation expansion is small, with only minor differences in installed
capacity and power generation compared to C1 RE target scenario. The
transmission capacity in 2020 and 2030 remains the same, while in 2040 and
2050 the limit of transmission increase with 1000 MW and 600 MW respec-
tively, to maintain the flexibility of power system.

350
300 Battery
250 Solar
200
Wind offshore
GW
150
Wind
100
Other RE
50
Hydro
0
Imp.LNG
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
No improvement UC
No improvement UC
No improvement UC
Dom.Gas
Oil
Imp.Coal
Dom.Coal
2030 2040 2050
Figure 72: Comparing Installed capacity by power source type of the No improvement UC and C1
RE target scenarios.
The difference of installed capacity in the two scenarios is small; in 2050 the
No UC improvement scenario has nearly 2 GW more total capacity than the C1
RE target scenario, corresponding to a 0.6% increase, mostly coming from the
increase of the battery capacity.
Similarly, there is no significant change of power generation between the two
scenarios. Only wind power generation increases nearly 2 TWh while solar and
imported coal have a reduction of 1.4 TWh and 0.6 TWh respectively.
The total transmission capacity of transmission line in No UC improvement

scenario is a little higher than C1 RE target of 0.8 GW in 2040 and 0.6 GW in
2050, mainly at the interface of South Central to the South and Highland to
Mid Central relate to power releasing of solar generation.

70
60
50 Capital Trans. Cost

(m$)
Billion USD
40
Start-up costs (m$)
30
Fuel Cost (m$)
20
10 Variable O&M (m$)
0
Fixed O&M (m$)
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
No improvement UC
No improvement UC
No improvement UC
No improvement UC
Capital Cost (new
units) (m$)
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 73: Comparing total system cost of the No improvement UC and C1 RE target scenarios.
The No UC improvement have the same total cost as compared to the C1 RE

target scenario, where the capital, O&M cost and start-up cost increase but
the fuel cost reduces, which is related to lower generation of imported coal. In
particular, the start-up cost increase 38% in No UC improvement due to lower
flexibility of coal, gas and biomass technology. However, the start-up costs still
only constitutes a small fraction (0.15%) of the total costs
In conclusion, the impact of No UC improvement to the generation expansion

is small. In case of lower flexibility of the fossil fuel technology (coal, gas and
biomass), the system has to add slightly more battery and transmission capac-
ity. In addition, the small increase of wind generation will replace some gen-
eration from solar and imported coal.
7.3 Sensitivity analysis on battery costs

In this sensitivity analysis, the investment cost of battery is not reduced in the
future. The assumption is that investment cost of batteries in period up to
2050 will be the same as in 2020.
Results
In 2030 the installed capacity of battery storage in the High Cost Battery sce-
nario will be about 1.7 GW, which is about 2.6GW lower than the C1 RE Target

scenario. To replace 2.6 GW of battery storage, the model adds about 1GW of
domestic gas, while reducing 0.6 GW of imported coal. The capacity of renew-
able energy is also changed: solar power decreases by 0.2 GW, while wind
power increase by 0.1 GW.
In 2040, the battery capacity will decrease by about 2.2 GW in High battery
cost scenario compared to the C1 RE target scenario. In replacement, the ca-
pacity of domestic gas thermal increases by 2.6 GW, wind power increases by
0.5 GW, while solar power is reduced by about 2 GW.
In 2050, there are more changes in the power capacity structure. Battery ca-
pacity falls by more than 43% compared to C1 RE target scenario (32 GW re-
duction), while 5.8 GW of pumped storage hydro power plants will appear.
Imported coal will increase by 2 GW and domestic gas increases by 5 GW
compared to C1 RE target scenario. Solar decreases by 18 GW, while wind
increases by 11 GW and hydro increase 1 GW to ensure RE targets.
The result show that, if the investment cost of battery is high, the wind capac-
ity will be more developed while capacity of solar reduce comparing with C1
RE target scenario. That is because of the wind have the hourly generation
characteristic more regular than solar, wind power does not need installed
battery much as solar
350
300
Pumped_hydro
250
Battery
200 Solar
GW
Wind
150
Hydro
100
Other RE
50 Oil
0 Imp.LNG
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
HighcostBattery
HighcostBattery
HighcostBattery
HighcostBattery
Dom.Gas
Imp.Coal
Dom.Coal
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 74: Comparing Installed capacity by power source type in the High cost battery and C1 RE
target scenarios.

About the energy generation mix, RE targets are guaranteed as in the C1 RE
target scenario in all calculated years. The amount of wind energy increases
while the solar energy decreases. In 2050, solar generation energy will de-
crease by 32 TWh, wind energy increase by 29.7 TWh and hydro energy in-
crease by 2.3 TWh. Generation energy of coal and gas-fired thermal power
plants have not changed significantly.
1.000
800
Pumped_hydro
Battery
600
Solar
Wind
TWh
400
Hydro
Other RE
200 Oil
Imp.LNG
0 Dom.Gas
HighcostBattery
HighcostBattery
HighcostBattery
HighcostBattery
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
Imp.Coal
-200 Dom.Coal
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 75: Comparing energy generation by power source type in the High cost battery and C1
RE target scenarios.
Transmission capacity in 2050 on Center_Central – North_Center – North in-

terfaces will increase by 2-3GW, Center_Central – South_Center and Cen-
ter_Central – Highland interfaces will increase by about 2GW. The reason is
that the model chooses to invest more domestic gas in Center_Central and
more renewable energy capacity in Highland.

14
12
10
GW 8
6
4
2
0
Highland
Highland
South_Central
South_Central
Center_Central
Center_Central
North_Central

C1 RE target HighcostBattery
Figure 76: Comparing Transmission capacity between regions in 2050 of the High cost Battery
and C1 RE target scenarios.
If the battery investment cost in the period to 2050 does not decrease, the
total system cost will be higher than the C1 RE target scenario. Significant
changes are seen in 2040 and 2050, where the total system cost will increase
by 2.3% and 5.9% respectively compared to C1 RE target scenario. The main
change is due to increased capital costs.
70
60
Start-up costs (m$)
50
Billion USD
40 Fuel Cost (m$)

30
Variable O&M (m$)
20
10 Fixed O&M (m$)
0
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
HighcostBattery
HighcostBattery
HighcostBattery
HighcostBattery
Capital Trans. Cost

(m$)
Capital Cost (new
units) (m$)
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 77: Comparing total system cost of the High cost Battery and C1 RE target scenarios.

70
60 transmission
Pumped_hydro
50
Battery
Billion USD
40
Solar
30 Wind
20 Hydro
Other RE
10
Oil
0
Imp.LNG
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
C1 RE target
HighcostBattery
HighcostBattery
HighcostBattery
HighcostBattery
Dom.Gas
Imp.Coal
Dom.Coal
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 78: Comparing total system cost of High cost Battery and C1 RE target scenarios by types
of source in 2050.
In High cost battery scenario, investment cost of domestic gas, battery and
pumped hydro make the total system cost higher than total system cost of C1
RE target scenario.
In conclusion, if the battery investment cost does not decrease and is kept
constant at 2020 level, the battery capacity will decrease by about 2 GW in
2030 and 2040, while a significant change will occur in 2050 with 32GW re-
duction of battery capacity, compared to the C1 RE target scenario. In 2050,
pumped storage hydro power plants will appear in the system at a level about
6 GW. The volume of imported coal and domestic gas capacity will increase,
solar power will decrease while wind power will increase to ensure RE target.
7.4 Sensitivity analysis on PV potential

Based on the national renewable energy development plan prepared by Insti-
tute of Energy (October 2018), the economic potential of solar power in Vi-
etnam is divided into two cases: High case and base case (see below picture).
The high case has been included in the calculation in the C1 RE target scenar-
io. Therefore, in order to assess the impact when the potential of solar power
is lower, potential parameters of the base case will be used for sensitivity
analyse. Accordingly, the potential of solar power is expected to fall by more
than a half compared to the C1 RE target scenario.

400000
350000
300000
250000
MW
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
North North Mid High land South South Total
Center Center Center
Base case High case
Figure 79: Economic potential of solar power in Vietnam. Source: Draft report of Vietnam Re-
newable Energy Development Plan (10/2018).
Results
The change in capacity structure will only appear in 2050. The installed capaci-
ty of solar power decreases by 5.2 GW and wind power capacity increases by
2.6 GW, at the same time, the capacity of battery reduces 1.2 GW. This result
is due to the land cost assumption for solar PV, where 50% of the potential
capacity has low land cost and the remaining 50% potential has high land cost.
So, with less PV potential, PV solar capacity potential with low land cost is also
less compared to the C1 RE target scenario.
350
300 Battery
Solar
250
Wind
200
Hydro
GW
150 Other RE
Oil
100
Imp.LNG
50
Dom.Gas
0 Imp.Coal
C1 RE Less PV C1 RE Less PV C1 RE Less PV C1 RE Less PV
target target target target Dom.Coal
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 80: Comparing Installed capacity by power source type in the Less PV and C1 RE target
scenarios.

When comparing installed capacity by regions in the Less PV scenario in 2050
(Figure 81) and potential of base case, it can be seen that: the installed capaci-
ty of solar in each region in the Less PV scenario is still smaller than the poten-
tial. However, the capacity of solar is different between C1 RE target and Less
PV scenarios in Highland and South Central. In the Less PV scenario, the capac-
ity of solar in Highland is reduced by about 9 GW, while South Central is in-
creased by about 7GW. The increased capacity of wind (about 2.6 GW) occurs
in the Highland.
180
160
140
120 Battery
100 Solar
GW
80
Wind
60
40 Hydro
20 Other RE
0 Imp.LNG
Center_Central
South
Center_Central
South
North
Highland
North_Central
North
Highland
North_Central
South_Central
South_Central
Dom.Gas
Imp.Coal
Dom.Coal
C1 RE target Less PV
2050
Figure 81: Comparing Installed capacity by power source types and regions in the Less PV and
C1 RE target scenarios in 2050.
Analysing the energy generation structure, since the RE target is still applies in
the C1 RE target scenario, the output of coal and gas power sources have not
changed. By 2050, energy generation of solar will decrease by 7.8 TWh and is
replaced by an equivalent amount of energy generation from wind power.

GW
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Highland
Highland
South_Central
South_Central
Center_Central
Center_Central
North_Central
C1 RE target LessPV
Figure 82: Comparing Transmission capacity between regions in 2050 in the Less PV and C1 RE
target scenarios.
The largest change in transmission capacity between regions is the South-

Central to Centre-Central interface with an additional capacity of 1.7GW in
2050. This is due to the changing PV solar capacity in Highland and South Cen-
tral, resulting in higher transmission capacity from South Central to the North.
The total system cost in the Less PV scenario will be slightly higher than in the
C1 RE target scenario. However, the total cost difference is nearly insignificant
with a cost increase of about 0.5% in 2050. The cost in the years 2030 and
2040 are almost unchanged.
In conclusion, in the Less PV scenario in which the solar power potential is

reducing by more than 50%, the capacity of renewable energy sources will
only be changed in 2050, where wind power increases by 2.6 GW while solar
power decreases by 5.2 GW and battery storage decreases by 1.2 GW. This
change will add 0.8-1.7 GW of transmission capacity from South Central to
North and results in a 0.5% increase in system cost.
7.5 Sensitivity analysis for less output of hydro

This section studies the change in decisions for the development of the power
capacity with less hydro output. For this purpose, a dry year where hydrologi-
cal parameters at 75% water frequency of hydropower plants has been mod-
elled and compared to the C1 RE target scenario.

Results
350
300
Battery
250 Solar
Wind
200
Hydro
GW
150 Other RE
Oil
100 Imp.LNG
Dom.Gas
50
Imp.Coal
Dom.Coal
0
C1 RE Dry C1 RE Dry C1 RE Dry C1 RE Dry
target year target year target year target year
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 83: Comparing Installed capacity by power source type in the Dry year and C1 RE target
scenarios.
Capacity of imported coal and domestic gas is increased insignificantly in the

Dry year scenario (only about 0.3 GW in 2030, 2040 and 2050) compared to
the C1 RE target scenario. Because of the RE target, the capacity of wind, solar
and biomass is increased in the Dry year scenario. The change in generation
capacity mix starts from 2020, with nearly 3 GW of wind and 0.8 GW of bio-
mass additional capacity in the Dry year scenario.
Compared to the C1 RE target scenario, PV solar increases by about 5 GW in

2030, 2040 and 2050; wind power is increased by about 0.5 GW in 2030 and
3.8 GW in 2040 and 2050; battery capacity is changed significantly in 2050
with an additional 4.6 GW of capacity compared to the C1 RE target scenario.
About energy generation, hydro output is reduced by 19.6 GWh in the Dry
year scenario, renewable energy generates instead in 2040, 2050 with the
same generation energy. As an exception, imported coal power generation is
increased about 7GWh in 2030. This happens because the RE-target is overful-
filled in 2030 in the C1 RE target scenario.

1.000
Battery
800
Solar
Wind
600
Hydro
TWh
Other RE
400
Oil
200 Imp.LNG
Dom.Gas
0 Imp.Coal
C1 RE Dry C1 RE Dry C1 RE Dry C1 RE Dry Dom.Coal
-200
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 84: Comparing energy generation by power source type in the Dry year and C1 RE target
scenarios.
GW
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Highland
Highland
South_Central
South_Central
Center_Central
Center_Central
North_Central
C1 RE target Dry year
Figure 85: Comparing Transmission capacity between regions in 2050 in the Dry year and C1 RE
target scenarios.
Because of increasing capacity of solar and wind in the South Central region in
Dry year scenario, the transmission capacity in the interface from South Cen-
tral to South will increase nearly 2 GW compared to the C1 RE target scenario.
This is the most significant change for the transmission capacity.

70
Start-up costs (m$)
60
50 Fuel Cost (m$)
Billion USD
40
Variable O&M (m$)
30
20 Fixed O&M (m$)
10
Capital Trans. Cost (m$)
0
C1 RE Dry C1 RE Dry C1 RE Dry C1 RE Dry
Capital Cost (new units)
(m$)
2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 86: Comparing total system cost in the Dry year and C1 RE target scenarios.
Total system cost of the Dry year scenario is higher than C1 RE target scenario,
with an increase of about 6% of system cost in 2030 and about 3% of total
system cost in 2050.
In conclusion, in Dry year scenario, the power source development plan will
be added more capacity of renewable energy compared to the C1 RE target
scenario, specifically: 3 GW of wind and 0.8 GW of biomass in 2020; 5 GW of
solar PV and 0.5 GW of wind in 2030; 5 GW of solar PV and 4 GW of wind in
2040; 5 GW of solar PV, 4 GW of wind and 4.6 GW of battery in 2050.
7.6 Sensitivity analysis overview

All scenarios for the parameter variation are consistent with least-cost opti-
mal solution. However, the change is not very large because of RE require-
ment which is implemented in all sensitivity scenarios. The change in capacity
mix of each scenario compared to the C1 RE target scenario can be seen in
Table 15.

Table 15: Summary of parameter Variation Analysis.
Change in capacity mix compared to the

No Scenario Value variation
C1 RE target scenario
There is the impact that we in general
expect: Higher fuel price, higher RE share.
Forcasted prices In 2030, imported coal decrease 1 GW,
of imported coal solar increase 3 GW, RE requirement is
High fuel
1 and LNG by the overfulfilled (35%). In 2050, capacity of
prices
Current policy renewable energy is changed a little, but
scenario the capacity of coal is reduced about 2
GW and capacity of battery is increased by
about 3 GW.
Imported coal capacity increases while
LNG capacity is unchanged. In 2030,
Forcasted prices imported coal increases by 1 GW, solar
of imported coal decreases by 0.5 GW, biomass reduces by
Low fuel
2 and LNG by the 0.5 GW. In 2050, capacity of imported coal
prices
Sustainable increases by 1.5 GW and the capacity of
policy scenario battery reduces by 1 GW in the Low fuel
scenario comparing with C1 RE target
scenario.
In 2050, the No UC improvement scenario
Unit has 2 GW of battery storage more than
commitment of the C1 RE target scenario, a decrease of
new power 0.8 GW solar and an increase of 0.8GW
No UC
3 plants will have wind. In the No UC improvement scenario,
improvement
the same the system has to add more battery and
parameters as in transmission capacity, the little higher of
2020 wind generation will replace some of solar
and imported coal.
Battery capacity decreases about by 2 GW
in 2030 and 2040, the significant change
will occur in 2050 with a 32 GW reduction
Investment cost of battery capacity compared to the C1 RE
of battery in target scenario. In 2050, pumped storage
High cost
4 period to 2050 hydro power plants will appear in the
Battery
will be the same system at a level about 6 GW. The volume
one in 2020 of imported coal and domestic gas
capacity increases, solar power decreases
while wind power increases to ensure the
RE target

Change in capacity mix compared to the
No Scenario Value variation
C1 RE target scenario
Using base case The structure of renewable energy capaci-
economic ty only changes in 2050, of which wind
potential of solar power increases by 2.6 GW while solar
5 Less PV power (a half of power decreases by 5.2 GW and battery
potential of C1 capacity will be reduced by 1.2 GW. This
RE target change adds 0.8-1.7 GW of transmission
scenario) capacity from South Central to North
More capacity of renewable energy is
Hydrological seen compared to the C1 RE target
parameters at scenario to ensure the RE target,
75% water specifically: 3 GW of wind and 0.8 GW of
6 Dry year
frequency of biomass in 2020; 5 GW of solar PV and 0.5
hydropower GW of wind in 2030; 5 GW of solar PV and
plants 4 GW of wind in 2040; 5 GW of solar PV, 4
GW of wind and 4.6 GW of battery in 2050
The results of above 5 scenarios of variation parameter show that there will
be lots of solar and battery to 2050 in any case. Especially, the High cost bat-
tery and the Dry year scenarios are interesting, as they seem to have the larg-
est impact on the results.
In High cost battery scenario, because of RE target, solar power will decrease
while wind power will increase (a shift from solar to wind). Even with the high
battery costs, battery capacity still appears from 2030 and there are still lot of
batteries in 2050 (42GW). Some pumped storage is entering instead of batter-
ies in 2050.
In order to reserve for dry years, the power source development plan should
be added more capacity of renewable energy comparing with C1 scenario. In
2020, wind power can be development to 4GW. About 5-10 GW of solar and
wind power should be add more in each year 2030, 2040, 2050 to ensure RE
target.

8 Discussion and key findings
8.1 Energy efficiency
Different sectors feature with different levels of energy savings, when com-
pared to the baseline demand, with EE devices and measures being cost-
effective across all economic sectors. By 2030, EE measures modelled in the
C3 Energy efficiency scenario can reduce the final energy demand by 8.9%,
11.0%, 22.7% and 13.4% for industrial, commercial, residential and transport
sectors respectively, with respect to C1 RE target scenario.
In the industrial sector, iron & steel, cement, textile, pulp and paper are the
most important subsectors where efficient motors, VSD and efficient boil-
ers/furnaces are key technologies for realizing least-cost EE potential. In the
residential sector, efficient technologies and higher performance standards in
lighting and cooling devices are needed. In transport sector, fuel economy
standards in road transport for car, motorbike and other commercial vehicles
help reduce significantly final energy consumption. Modal shift from private
to mass transit public transport is also useful in saving fuel use for the
transport sector.
With enhanced EE devices, up to 632 PJ of final energy consumption can be
saved by 2030 and 1970 PJ by 2050. Moreover, the energy efficient technolo-
gies can save annually 76.8 Mt CO2 by 2030 and 207.4 Mt CO2 by 2050. The EE
measures introduced can save system costs annually from 0.9% to 11.2% in
the period 2020-2050. Even though additional investment incurred for EE
technologies, a large amount of fuel costs can be saved, thus resulting in an
overall reduction of the total system cost. On the other hand, modelling of EE
options does include the technology costs (investment, O&M, fuel), yet not
the costs associated to the implementation of different measures to promote
the EE uptake.
8.2 Energy resources

Domestic fuel resources are all economic sources for future energy develop-
ment. In both scenarios, domestic resources such as coal, natural gas, crude
oil and biomass are all fully utilized. Biomass is a cost-effective fuel for indus-
trial processes and CHP applications. Developments of biomass resources for
industrial and power sectors will play a very important role in saving costs and
reducing fossil fuel use. Options for biomass co-firing technologies are very
attractive in the industrial sector and can deal with current unstable biomass
supply in some areas of the country. Solar and wind are major domestic re-
sources when it comes to power production, which will still be available in the
period up to 2050. The main differences between the scenario with and with-

out high EE uptake are found in domestic resource allocations among the
economic sectors and imported resources.
Despite the significant increases in RE deployment (especially in power sector)

in later years, fossil fuel dependency, which accounts for about 80% of the
total primary energy supply, is still high in all five scenarios. Imported re-
sources such as coal and natural gas will really be needed to fuel the economy
in the period up to 2050. Imported coal is mainly used for power generation.
Crude oil and oil products are mainly required for transport activities. Import-
ed LNG will be valuable for industries as well as for the power sector, especial-
ly in the C2 No new coal and C4 Combination scenarios, where new coal in-
vestments are restricted. Electricity imports are also utilized at their maximum
potential. By 2020, imported fuel dependency will reach about 30% of TPES,
and it will increase quickly to 51% to 60% by 2030, then to 58 to 79% in 2050
across scenarios. A combination of RE, EE efforts and a no new coal policy may
reduce reliance on imported fuels to 58% by 2050 with some increase in the
total system cost.
8.3 Power sector

The historical growth in electricity demand in Vietnam has been very high, due
to rapidly increasing electrification rates12. More recently, the average annual
growth in electricity demand from 2009 to 2017 was 11%. This development
has been driven by economic growth with significant expansion in industrial
production, though the demand growth surpasses the economic. The contin-
uous growth in Vietnam’s power demand even with a high penetration of EE
makes it crucial to establish new power generation projects in order to pro-
vide a sustainable and stable power supply.
Fuel resources
Several local energy sources are significant but limited, e.g. domestic coal and
natural gas, as well as waste, biomass, small and large hydro. With the rapid
increase of electricity demand in Vietnam these sources of energy are quickly
fully utilised, and three main alternative energy resources emerge and domi-
nate the analysed solutions:
 Wind and solar PV in combination with batteries
 Imported coal
 Imported LNG
12 More than 98% of households have access to electricity today, compared to just 2.5% in 1976.

When discussing the burden of imported fuels, it is important to clarify
whether the focus is on the cost for the imported fuel – or on the amount of
imported fuel (PJ). In many situations the cost aspect (USD) may be more im-
portant than the technical energy perspective (PJ). Comparing imported coal
and LNG, it is clear that LNG is more expensive, but induces lower CO2 emis-
sions.
Summarizing the analysed power scenarios, one could say that in a least cost
development, depending on the focus point, different types of generation
come into play (see also Figure 87):
 Achieving a high share of renewable energy in the power sector:
o Mainly expansion with solar PV and wind
o Imported coal is preferred over LNG due to lower price
 Achieving dependency on imported fuel (reduction in imported fuel
costs)
o Imported coal is preferred over LNG due to lower price
 Achieving 30% or more CO2 emission reduction in the power sector
(compared to the C1 RE target scenario):
o Imported LNG is preferred over coal due to lower emissions
Increase share
of renewable
energy in power Solar
sector
Minimise total Imported

costs Solar
coal
Reduce
expenditure for Imported
imported fuels Solar
coal
($)
Reduce CO2 Imported

emission Solar
LNG
Figure 87: Three types of policy goals and the RE target responses for least-cost solutions.
Energy efficiency
Energy efficiency implementation results in a lower power demand, which
increases the RE share. This can be seen, e.g. when comparing the C2 No new
coal scenario and the C4 Combination scenario, where in 2050 the RE share

increases from 50% to 59%. A lower power demand also results in lower pow-
er sector costs. In the two above mentioned scenarios, the costs decrease
from 68 Billion USD to 48 Billion USD, i.e. a 38% decrease.
Renewable energy
Wind and solar power production technologies offer a new cost-effective way
to reduce both CO2 emissions and fuel imports. In all the 5 Core scenarios and
the 11 Green power scenarios, power generation from wind and solar PV play
an important role in the Vietnamese power mix.
In 2030, significant expansions in both onshore wind and solar PV are seen in
all Core scenarios. The share of renewable generation in the C0 Unrestricted
scenario is the same as in the C1 RE target scenario (33%), which is slightly
higher than the requirement implemented, indicating that wind and solar
generation are least-cost investments from a socio-economic perspective. In
the C2 No new coal scenario, the generation from imported coal is replaced by
wind and solar generation resulting in a 43% RE share, where even offshore
wind comes into the power mix. In the C3 Energy efficiency scenario and the
C4 Combination scenario, RE generation also surpasses the share found in C1
RE target, with 37% and 40% respectively.
After 2030, the least-cost expansion in RE is predominantly solar power gen-

eration. However, onshore wind expansion has a role in the limited areas with
high wind speeds and in some regions also in medium wind speed areas. For
example, in 2050, 43% of the generation comes from renewable sources in
the C1 RE target scenario, hereof 23% solar, 9% hydro, 7% onshore and 3%
offshore wind. When increasing the RE share requirement to 80%, the RE
generation consists of 54% solar, and 12% onshore wind, other RE shares do
not increase. The 289 GW of solar capacity in this case, would still only cover
1.15% of the total land area in Vietnam.
Power system balancing

The incoming variable renewable energy from wind power and solar PV re-
quire adequate balancing options in the Vietnamese power system. The least-
cost optimization includes investment in balancing options in the forms of
transmission lines between regions, batteries which can be optimized inde-
pendently on volume size and effect (power output capacity) and pumped
hydro projects.
Starting in 2030, the least-cost solution for meeting the RE targets involves
the utilisation of batteries to balance the system. As a result, by 2050 the total

installed battery capacity depending on the scenario is between 73 and 739
GWh storage capacity (32 and 205 GW effect). For the C1 RE target scenario,
1.75 MWh storage and 0.63 MW effect of battery is installed per MW solar
power. Batteries were found to be a more attractive option than pumped
storage solutions, as they are cheaper per MW effect.
With the introduction of larger RE shares in the power system, the transmis-
sion capacity in between the region also increases rapidly. By 2050, from 53
GW transmission (all lines summed) in the C1 RE target scenarios to 130 GW
in the RE6 80pct scenario. This transmission is not just used for balancing of
the variable RE but also serves to transmit power from regions with high RE
resources to the main demand centres.
8.4 Climate impact

CO2 emissions from the energy sector are increasing quickly at 7.0% p.a. in
2020-2030 and 4.0% p.a. in the whole period of 2020-2050 in the C1 RE target
scenario. Power generation is the main contributor for the increased CO2
emissions followed by industrial and transport sectors.
EE measures can reduce the CO2 emission growth rate in 2020-2050 from
4.0% p.a. in C1 RE target scenario to 3.3% p.a. as compared to C1 RE target
scenario. CO2 emission reductions are mainly obtained in the power and
transport sector.
The introduction of large shares of wind and solar generation are the cheapest
alternative to reduce CO2 emissions from thermal generation, with RE share
reaching around 50% of the generation (EL4 60pct and further). Further CO2
reductions are achieved by using imported LNG instead of imported coal.
As compared to the MONRE’s BAU emissions, CO2 emission reductions with
REDS’s RE targets can fulfill the unconditional target of 8%. Moreover, the RE
target and the additional EE efforts in C3 Energy efficiency can fulfill the condi-
tional target of 25%.
8.5 Discussion
Wind and solar

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has undertaken analysis
of the realised costs from thousands of wind and solar projects worldwide. It
documents that a strong reduction in investment costs for wind and solar has
taken place from 2010 to 2017. The levelized costs of onshore wind and solar
PV are now in the same range as traditional fossil fuel plants. In 2010, the

levelized cost of a typical PV project was USD 0.35 per MWh, whereas in 2017
it fell to USD 0.10 per MWh. This can be compared to typical costs for fossil
fuel-based generation of USD 0.05 to 0.15 per MWh (IRENA, 2018, b).
In this study, the investment costs for solar power have been assumed to de-
crease from 1.08 USD/kWac in 2020 to 0.63 USD/kWac in 2050 (a 42% de-
crease). This remarkable development is backed by many international re-
ports, including the 2018 World Energy Outlook from the International Energy
Agency (IEA, 2018). These decreases in cost are an important driver for the
large implementation of wind and especially solar in the model results.
Variable electricity generation from wind and solar power can pose challenges
for any power system. To accommodate production from these variable
sources, new procedures are required (e.g. for wind and solar generation
prognoses, new role for hydro power to balance the system), and investment
in new transmission capacity and storage may also be relevant.
While levelized costs for wind and solar are decreasing and competing with
traditional generation, they require large capital costs investments, which
could be challenging in terms of acquiring financing.
Key aspects that need further research – and where more information will be
available when more solar PV parks are installed in Vietnam – is the solar po-
tential and the land cost for solar PV farms. Currently the land costs are as-
sumed to be 6 USD/m2 for the first half of the total solar potential and the
double for the last half.
Rooftop solar has not been considered in this study. However, generation
from rooftop solar could supplement utility scale solar power, as it can save
on land-use costs, while at the same time requiring lower investments in grid
reinforcement as the generation is located at the demand sites. Due to the
smaller scale, rooftop solar is generally more expensive than utility scale,
which would make utility scale investments the preferred solution in a least-
cost optimization.
Storage
As with wind and solar production, batteries see a rapid decrease in costs.
Based on the current assumptions, the least-cost analyses will use batteries
instead of pumped hydro to balance the system in the scenarios with a high
share of renewable energy. The pumped hydro facilities that are used as in-
vestment options represent six concrete projects. While comparing pumped

storage and batteries by investment per storage capacity (USD/MWh) reveals
similar values, comparing them on cost per effect (USD/MW) and in round-
cycles efficiency, batteries detain better values (Table 16). The pumped hydro
candidates may be further optimised to compete with batteries. The power
system seems to prioritise short-term storage.
Table 16: Comparison of pumped storage and batteries, averaged over the 8 projects given as
investment options.
Investment cost Investment cost Efficiency

kUSD/MWh kUSD/MW %
Pumped storage (average*) 96 887 80%
Batteries (2030/2050) 270/90 500/140 91%/92%
Batteries used for power system balancing are a relatively new technology,
which involve several uncertainties. Considerations on the lifecycle assess-
ment of batteries should be taken into account, including an assessment of
their impact on environment and the availability of needed resources during
their production phase and at the end of their lifetime.
Imported fuels
Due to the large expected increase in demand (both final energy demand and
power demand), domestic fuels will not be sufficient to supply the required
energy. While renewables can supply a large part of the additional demand in
the power sector, the remaining energy generation will be supplied by im-
ported fuels.
In the scenario analysis, coal comes out as the dominating thermal fuel source
when CO2 emission reductions are not prioritised, as its variable generation
costs are lower (import LNG has about 3 times higher fuel costs). In recent
years, however, coal generation has been met with resistance from the public
due to its negative effects on environment and health. Financing difficulties
are a further obstacle for development of coal generation. These considera-
tions are not included in the current study and could implicate a large partici-
pation of the more expensive but less polluting imported LNG fuel.

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07-05-2019

2 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

Executive summary .....................................................................................8

2 The models used ............................................................................... 17

3 Data input to the TIMES and Balmorel models.................................... 28

4 Energy scenarios ................................................................................ 44

5 Modelling results - Core scenarios ...................................................... 50

3 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

6 Modelling results – Green power scenarios ........................................ 69

7 Model results - Sensitivity analyses .................................................... 82

8 Discussion and key findings.............................................................. 102

4 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

5 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

This objective is to be achieved by assisting the Electricity and Renewable

This report documents the model-based analyses that are expected to be a

The core activities comprising the current study include:

The energy scenarios presented in this report are based on a modelling

6 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

7 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

8 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

9 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

10 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

11 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

Export Import Net import Import dependency

12 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

Industrial Agricultural Transport Commercial Residential Non-energy

Following the socio-economic development, energy consumption in recent

Based on the past development, challenges for sustainable energy develop-

1.2 Vietnamese power sector

13 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

As Vietnam is still a developing country, the demand for energy consumption

14 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

15 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

16 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

2.1 The TIMES model

Moreover, TIMES is an economic model for analyses of national energy sys-

17 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

The model contains five demand sectors: Agriculture, Commercial, Industry,

18 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

Figure 4: Modelling framework for TIMES-Vietnam

19 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

20 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

21 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

Figure 5: Transmission region and the current interconnectors in Vietnam (2018).

6License for GAMS is needed in order to run the model

22 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

23 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

2.4 Combined model setup

24 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

25 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

Figure 8: Data flow between Balmorel and PSS/E.

26 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

27 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

3.1 Demand drivers

Figure 9: GDP projection for Vietnam.

28 | Long-term scenarios for the Vietnamese energy system - 07-05-2019

Population - Million people

Figure 10: Population projection for Vietnam.

3.2 Electricity demand