Project Description

EIA for Nearshore Wave Power Plant at An Binh Island

Client: USAID INVEST   |   Duration:  September 2021 – November 2022 |   Location: Vietnam

The Project was part of a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) initiative to explore and facilitate private investments in the Renewable Energy (RE) sector through the Renewable Energy Transaction Assistance Facility, designed to offset transaction costs and reduce the risk profiles of RE projects for firms. INGINE PACIFIC Co. Ltd. (INGINE) was the developer for the proposed INGINE Ly Son 1 Wave Energy Plant (LSWEP), and the International Centre for Environmental Management (ICEM) was the EIA consultant with support from USAID through the INVEST mechanism.

 The Vietnam renewable energy transaction assistance fund nearshore wave power plant in Ly Son: EIA, Gap analysis, and learning capture was primarily focused on an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the LSWEP planned for construction in the nearshore zone of An Binh Island, Ly Son District, Quang Ngai Province in 2023. The development was planned for construction in a Marine Protected Area (MPA). Project supporting works aimed to extract and document lessons learned, undertaken via a Gap Analysis for EIA in Vietnam compared to international EIA processes, and a Wave Energy Case Study, which analysed the context and potential for wave energy in Vietnam and captured project lessons learned.

Description of services provided in the assignment

Main activities and deliverables comprised the i) Inception Report, ii) Scoping Report, iii) Environmental sampling missions at the project site, iv) Community and Government Consultations, v) Environmental Impact Assessment Report, vi) Gap Analysis Report, vii) Wave Energy Case Study and Learning Report, and viii) Final Dissemination Session. All reports were provided in English and Vietnamese.

Scoping was used to determine the EIA scope of works. It provided a summary of the key LSWEP features and an overview of the main conclusions regarding the likely impacts and mitigation measures. The Scoping Report was distributed to the relevant Government stakeholders for feedback to be further considered in the EIA report.

The EIA for the LSWEP was prepared following the Vietnamese national legislative framework on EIA and applicable international good practices. Using information from the environmental sampling missions and community and government consultations provided an assessment of An Binh Island’s environmental and socio-economic conditions, potential impacts and mitigation measures of the LSWEP, and an Environmental Monitoring and Management Program (EMMP) for the development.

Gap Analysis was undertaken to support future EIAs for Wave Energy Converter (WEC) projects in Vietnam by identifying challenges and formulating recommendations on conducting environmental assessments. The Gap Analysis compared similarities, differences and gaps between requirements under the Vietnamese legislative framework for EIA, and those applying international standards, particularly the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Standard 1 Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts, 2017.

The Wave Energy Case Study and Final Dissemination Session provided context and analysis on:

• i) renewable energy in Vietnam, including current status and RE policy,
• ii) a wave energy overview including different types of WECs and innovations of the LSWEP,
• iii) an overview of likely future climate change scenarios for An Binh and potential impacts on the LSWEP,
• iv) key impacts as determined by the EIA on environmental and socio-economic receptors and analysis of the An Binh’s electricity system,
• v) scalability potential and criteria that could be used to assess the suitability of other sites for WECs of a similar design to the LSWEP, and
• vi) lessons learned and recommendations including ICEM’s experience related to the EIA process, barriers for future WECs, pathways forward related to wave energy, and ways that project partners can help to facilitate the adoption of wave energy.

Reports

> Click to download and read the Wave Energy Case Study (VN)

> Click to download and read the Wave Energy Case Study (EN)

> Click to download and read the Gap Analysis Report (EN)

> Click to download and read the Gap Analysis Report (VN)