Exploring a possible energy transition in Vietnam; Scenarios for the electricity sector and cost assessment of de‐carbonisation

International audience; As an emerging country in Southeast Asia, Vietnam has been experiencing strong economicgrowth over the past decades. Its rapid development is characterized by industrial and urbantransformations which translate into sustained demand for energy, and particularly electricity.Electricity production grew 14,1% over 1990-2010, and per capita consumption jumped from 93to 999 kWh/habitant.These trends for electricity sector expansion are to be considered in a policy and regulatoryframework with strong State intervention. Public intervention is proactive for the upgrading ofthe national capacity and the orientation of the electricity mix. The national electricity plan isconsidering a tremendous expansion of the national electricity capacity by 2030. By that time,the electricity capacity would be increased sevenfold (20.000 MW in 2010 upgraded to 146.800MW in 2030), according to offcial sources. The seventh Masterplan envisages a mix where hydropoweraccounts for 11.8%, energy storage hydropower 3.9%; coal thermal power 51.6%; andgas fired power 11, 8%; power using renewable energy 9.4%; nuclear power 6.6% ; and importedpower 4.9%.This is a considerable challenge in terms of investment, technology choice and prospects forreconciling energy, environment and climate policies. In this context, our research mobilizeseconomic analysis to investigate current trends with a view of characterizing a possible electricitytransition in Vietnam.