By Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio
HANOI (Reuters) -Vietnam is open to using small module reactors for its planned nuclear power plants, according to a document from the Communist Party’s Politburo, the most powerful body of the country.
The Southeast Asian country, a regional manufacturing hub, is seeking to ramp up its power generation capacity to support its economy, one of the fastest-growing in the world.
In the document, which is available online, the Politburo calls for the rapid compilation of “a flexible nuclear power development plan, with small module reactors,” and also encourages private companies to develop nuclear power plants.
This marks the first time Vietnam has openly said it will consider using small module reactors, which can be manufactured and shipped and installed on site, making them more affordable than building large nuclear power plants.
Small module reactors are produced or being developed by several countries, including the United States, Russia and South Korea. In May, Vietnam’s top energy firm Petrovietnam signed an information-sharing agreement on nuclear power technology with U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric Company.
Vietnam in April said it wanted to raise its total installed power capacity to a range of 183 to 236 gigawatts by 2030, up from more than 80 GW at the end of 2023, by focussing on increasing renewable energy and adding nuclear power to the mix.
To meet that capacity target, the country would need to invest $136.3 billion by 2030, according to the government, equivalent to more than a quarter of Vietnam’s 2024 gross domestic product.
The Politburo said in the document that progress on several power development projects has been slow, while the legal framework for the industry remains weak.
“Domestic energy supplies are still reliant on imports, posing the threat of power shortages during a targeted period of double-digit economic growth,” it said.
Vietnam is aiming for GDP growth of 8.3%-8.5% for 2025 and double-digit growth for the rest of the decade.
Earlier this year Vietnam decided to restart development of nuclear power plants that were suspended nearly a decade ago, expecting the first plants with a combined capacity of up to 6.4 GW to be online by 2035.
Small module reactors have been deployed in several countries, including the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and Canada.
The Vietnamese government has earlier indicated that it would choose Russian and Japanese firms to develop its first nuclear power plants.
The Politburo also called for a boost in crude oil and coal production and the removal of regulatory hurdles for offshore wind development.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by John Mair and Tom Hogue)
