A wind farm in Vietnam's Ben Tre province, consisting of seven wind turbine towers, has remained inactive for several months, symbolizing the bureaucratic red tape that’s hindering the development of green energy in the country.
The stalled project in the Mekong Delta region is one of around 60 delayed projects in Vietnam.
There are around 3.5 GW of turbines, with some of which built or sitting idle, and some are still under construction. That capacity is enough to power 4.4 million households in Vietnam, a rapidly developing economy that has become a manufacturing hub for companies such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.
Vietnam has the best wind resource in Southeast Asia, and its long coastline along the South China Sea provides significant potential for renewable energy investment. The country's surging energy consumption and the desire of multinationals with factories there to decarbonize make it an ideal location for renewable energy investment.