Not fully exploiting the great potential
As one of the localities with renewable energy potential in the Mekong Delta, Ca Mau is planned for 48 wind power projects with a total capacity of 3,003.2 MW by 2030. However, after many years of implementation, many projects are still unfinished, while the factories that have been operating have not yet fully utilized their capacity.
According to the Department of Industry and Trade of Ca Mau province, there are currently 20 projects with a total capacity of 1,263 MW that have not been approved for investment policy and are in the process of selecting investors.
Among the 28 projects that have been approved for investment policy, only 14 projects with a total capacity of 694.2 MW are commercially operating. In 2025, these plants will produce about 1.8 billion kWh of electricity, an increase of more than 10% compared to the previous year; in the first 6 months of 2026, output is estimated at more than 874 million kWh, an increase of about 15%. 4 projects with a total capacity of 342 MW are under construction, of which 1A, 1B and Bac Lieu 3 expansion have been basically completed, expected to operate in the third quarter of 2026; Tan Thuan 3 is expected to generate electricity in the first quarter of 2027. 8 574 MW projects are still entangled in investment procedures, 2 130 MW projects are slow in selecting investors.
According to the assessment of the Department of Industry and Trade, the above figures show that Ca Mau's wind power potential has not been exploited commensurate with the plan. Most wind power projects are behind schedule due to many reasons such as electricity price mechanisms, land use planning, construction, connecting infrastructure and investor financial capacity.
Typically, the Khai Long - Ca Mau Tourist Area Wind Power Plant Project phase 1 once had to change investor due to capital difficulties. After adjusting the investment policy, the project continued to be entangled in connection due to having to share infrastructure with a project that had not been approved for investment policy.
The Provincial People's Committee has repeatedly proposed to the Ministry of Industry and Trade to adjust the connection plan in Power Plan VIII, but so far it is still being reviewed, causing the project not to be able to implement the next steps.
The Khanh Binh Tay Wind Power Plant project, after removing obstacles regarding the electricity price mechanism, still faces difficulties due to the actual wind speed being lower than expected, reducing investment efficiency. The enterprise currently has to propose adjusting the connection plan and continue to wait for updates to the adjusted Power Plan VIII.
Transmission infrastructure has not kept up with the development speed of power sources
Not only are investing projects facing difficulties, even wind power plants that have been put into operation cannot be fully exploited.
According to the Department of Industry and Trade of Ca Mau province, the biggest difficulty currently facing 14 projects in operation is that they regularly have to reduce power generation according to the regulation requirements of the national power system. This directly affects revenue, investment efficiency as well as the ability to recover capital and repay loans of enterprises. The main reason stems from the fact that the transmission grid infrastructure has not kept up with the development speed of power sources.
When many power plants generate electricity at strong winds, the risk of overloading power lines and substations forces the dispatcher to reduce capacity to ensure safety for the national power system.
Some projects are also behind schedule due to the financial capacity of investors. For example, the Ca Mau 1C and Ca Mau 1D wind power plant projects have not been able to be implemented on schedule because businesses focused resources on completing two projects 1A and 1B. After these projects are basically completed, the investor commits to continue to implement the remaining work.
Similarly, the Japan - Bac Lieu Wind Power Plant project is behind schedule due to the enterprise changing its legal representative and facing difficulties in contributing capital to implement the project.
To remove difficulties, the Department of Industry and Trade advises the Provincial People's Committee to accelerate the selection of investors for projects under the adjusted Power Plan VIII; regularly monitor and urge the progress of projects that have been approved for investment policy and proactively coordinate to handle arising difficulties. Proposing the Ministry of Industry and Trade to soon complete the electricity price mechanism to create conditions for businesses to arrange capital; and at the same time coordinate with Vietnam Electricity Group, National Power Transmission Corporation and related units to accelerate investment in transmission systems to relieve the capacity of wind power projects according to the plan.
