Vietnam's Path to 6 GW by 2030: Offshore wind planning through a biodiversity and marine spatial lens
Organisation's ambition
Vietnam has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and offshore wind energy is seen as a key technology contributing to this goal, with a target to install at least 6 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, and between 70 and 91.5 GW by 2050 according to Vietnam’s Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8). Given the large-scale planned development of offshore wind in Vietnam, marine spatial planning is essential to ensure a balance between offshore energy development and the protection of ecosystems, coastal communities, and other marine ecosystem service users.
Project purpose – biodiversity planning for a sustainable offshore wind development
The objective of the project was to develop Vietnam’s Offshore Wind Sectoral Plan by assessing the country’s wind energy potential in conjunction with technical, social, and environmental constraints. The plan represented an early-stage, broad-scale planning exercise aimed at identifying areas potentially suitable for sustainable offshore wind development.
Challenge
Selecting areas for offshore wind development requires a careful balance between economic opportunity and environmental responsibility. It is essential to identify locations that offer strong potential for developers and local communities, while minimising impacts on both the natural environment and existing human activities.
Marine spatial planning is a critical tool in this process. It involves analysing and organising the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities in marine areas to support ecological, economic, and social objectives. For offshore wind, it helps identify areas that are both technically feasible and economically viable, with the fewest environmental and social constraints.
From a biodiversity perspective, the planning process required the identification and integration of key ecological values, such as habitats, species, and ecological processes to support informed and sustainable decision-making. Limited data availability across all relevant features presented an early challenge, which was addressed through collaboration with national and international partners. This work also served as an early example of applying the SenMap framework, helping to test the process in practice and translate ecological sensitivity into practical inputs to guide spatial planning.
Our approach – spatial planning to identify areas with lower constraints and greater technical and economic viability for offshore wind development
The spatial planning process began by delineating Development Zones (DZs) - broad areas deemed suitable for offshore wind – within the Technical Potential Area defined in Vietnam’s offshore wind roadmap. Within these DZs, Development Blocks (DBs) were later identified as the least constrained and most economically attractive areas for potential project deployment. It is important to note that this plan did not involve selecting specific project sites, as that will be a subsequent stage requiring more detailed, site-level environmental and social impacts assessments.
The planning process followed five key steps:
1. Data sourcing and assessment
This step focused on identifying technical, environmental, and social constraints and values to inform the spatial modelling. The process was guided by the Integrated Environmental and Social Sensitivity Mapping (SenMap), which is an output of the World Bank Group’s Offshore Wind Development Program and was co-authored by The Biodiversity Consultancy. In the context of biodiversity, the objective was to compile relevant global and local datasets, assess biodiversity sensitivity to offshore wind development, and identify key information gaps. A biodiversity sensitivity scoring system was also developed to inform the zoning process.
2. Stakeholder engagement
A Biodiversity Expert Advisory Group was convened early in the process to provide input. Stakeholder engagement was conducted through webinars and workshops, which served to:
- Validate proposed biodiversity values and suggest additional considerations
- Review known data sources and identify new or supplementary datasets
- Confirm the proposed biodiversity sensitivity scoring approach
- Highlight key data gaps and explore potential solutions
3. Spatial modelling
Spatial modelling formed the basis for identifying DZs and DBs. The process began with exclusion modelling, which removed areas with major technical, environmental, or social constraints. From a biodiversity perspective, zones with high sensitivity such as areas hosting species or habitats of significant conservation concern were excluded. A second modelling phase removed areas with high projected costs per unit of energy produced. Additional criteria, such as commercial shipping routes and the minimum area needed to host a 1 GW project, were also applied to refine the DZ boundaries.
4. Identification of potential development areas
Within each DZ, DBs were defined as sub areas combining low constraints and high economic viability. Biodiversity criteria ensured that DBs avoided the most sensitive areas. For each DB, the most sensitive biodiversity features were identified and flagged for further consideration. The identification of DBs was phased according to the national power development targets outlined in PDP8—6 GW by 2030 and 34 GW by 2040.
5. Public consultation
The draft results of the spatial planning were presented for final stakeholder consultation. This stage aimed to:
- Gather feedback on the spatial modelling approach
- Identify potential issues with the proposed datasets
- Request any additional data or information for future planning activities
Outcome - development of Vietnam’s high-level Offshore Wind Plan
Our team contributed to the development of Vietnam’s high-level Offshore Wind Plan, ensuring biodiversity sensitivity was integrated into the assessment of offshore wind development potential.
The spatial assessment confirmed that sufficient areas exist within the identified Development Zones (DZs) to meet the PDP8 targets through 2050. Fourteen Development Blocks (DBs) are available for offshore wind deployment by 2030, with an additional 23 identified for 2040.
This plan marks a critical first step toward the sustainable growth of offshore wind in Vietnam. The plan and its datasets have also informed broader planning processes, including the National Marine Spatial Plan. It establishes a foundation for more detailed, site-specific assessments to guide the selection of low-impact, economically viable project locations and is a highly replicable approach for other emerging market countries.
