EnergyOMNI's Perspectives｜Vietnam picks VinEnergo for offshore wind project　Germany's PNE loses bid

Edited by EnergyOMNI

The Vietnamese government has recently announced the selection of VinEnergo Energy, a subsidiary of domestic conglomerate Vingroup, to develop the first phase of an offshore wind power project off the coast of Gia Lai province. The first phase is planned to have an installed capacity of up to 750 MW, with an investment value of approximately USD 1.9 million.

The Gia Lai provincial government recently selected VinEnergo for the offshore wind farm development, stating that VinEnergo's proposal was the only bid that fully met all requirements of the selection process. VinEnergo was established in March 2025 and has no prior experience in investing in or developing offshore wind projects.

Germany-based renewable energy company PNE also participated in the bidding process. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure holds a majority stake in PNE. The PNE Group is engaged in onshore wind, offshore wind, and solar PV development. In offshore wind, PNE currently operates four wind farms with a total installed capacity of around 1,344 MW. In addition to Germany, PNE is developing offshore wind projects in Vietnam and Latvia.

PNE entered the Vietnamese market in 2019, developing the Hon Trau offshore wind project off the coast of Binh Dinh province. The wind farm is located 10 kilometers offshore, with a planned total capacity of up to 2 GW and the installation of 150 turbines. Construction was planned to be carried out in three phases, with the first phase having an installed capacity of 750 MW, and total investment estimated at up to USD 4.6 billion. In 2022, PNE signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Binh Dinh province to advance the project, and in 2024 stated that it was seeking partners in Vietnam to jointly develop the project.

Following Vietnam's 2025 administrative restructuring, which reduced the number of provinces from 63 to 34, the former Binh Dinh province was merged into Gia Lai province, and the Hon Trau offshore wind project was accordingly reclassified under Gia Lai. According to reports, PNE has already invested several million US dollars in the project, including feasibility studies and wind resource assessments. In response to not being selected, PNE told Reuters that it was "surprised" by the decision and said the group would determine its next steps at a later stage.

The 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam concluded in Hanoi in January, with incumbent General Secretary To Lam securing a renewed term. Regarding economic development for 2026–2030, To Lam stated that Vietnam would focus on building a "new growth model" led by enterprises. Reuters reported that Vietnam intends to foster "national champion" companies, with VinEnergo's selection seen as one such example, which could lead to frictions with foreign investors across multiple sectors in the future.

In recent years, several European wind power companies have exited Vietnam, including Denmark's Ørsted, which announced its withdrawal in 2023, and Equinor of Norway and Enel of Italy in 2024. Nevertheless, some foreign investors continue to remain committed. For example, Denmark-based Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) announced in August 2025 that it had signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with Petrovietnam (PVN) to cooperate on offshore wind development.

Vietnam released a revised version of its Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8) in 2025, setting a target of 6–17 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. At present, Vietnam has only developed nearshore wind projects (within 6 nautical miles of the coast), with a cumulative capacity of 875 MW, and has no commercial offshore wind projects in operation. Since 2024, the Vietnamese government has begun policy deliberations on pilot offshore wind projects, with current plans leaning toward state-owned enterprises such as PVN taking a leading role. Earlier in January, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment allocated 63,800 hectares of sea areas to Vietnam Electricity (EVN) and PVN respectively, for 36 months of offshore site surveys and exploration.