Ninh Thuan
Vietnam's renewable energy capital with the 450 MW Trung Nam solar complex, revived nuclear program (4,000-6,400 MW by 2030-2035), and unique grape cultivation in semi-arid coastal climate.
Ninh Thuan exists because the South Central coast receives Vietnam's most intense solar irradiation (4.0-5.0 kWh/m²/day) and strongest onshore winds (7-9 m/s)—climatic conditions that first enabled grape cultivation unlike anywhere else in Vietnam, then attracted the country's largest solar farm (Trung Nam, 450 MW), and now justify reviving a $7.9 billion nuclear power program suspended since 2016.
The formation story is energy geography at national scale. Vietnam's National Assembly approved nuclear power restart in Ninh Thuan on November 30, 2024, targeting 4,000-6,400 MW from Ninh Thuan 1 and 2 plants by 2030-2035. Prime Minister Chinh has instructed state enterprises EVN and PetroVietnam to complete construction by 2030. The province simultaneously hosts Southeast Asia's renewable energy frontier: the Trung Nam solar complex anchors what the government designates as a "South-Central Renewable Energy Center."
The private sector has followed state planning. Trungnam Group invested $85 million in 500kV transmission infrastructure to evacuate solar power to the grid. The amended National Power Development Plan (PDP8) envisions renewables reaching 28-36% of capacity by 2030. Ninh Thuan's climate—harsh for agriculture, optimal for power generation—positions the province as Vietnam's energy laboratory.
The agricultural niche persists. Ninh Thuan's grape vineyards remain unique in Vietnam, producing table grapes and wine in a semi-arid microclimate more Mediterranean than tropical. This agronomic anomaly—too dry for rice, perfect for viticulture—demonstrates that climate constraints can enable rather than prevent specialized production.
By 2026, Ninh Thuan faces the nuclear construction challenge: whether Vietnam can execute on timeline after abandoning the project once already. The province that grows Vietnam's only grapes may soon split atoms for Vietnam's only nuclear plants. Whether solar, wind, nuclear, and agriculture can coexist on limited coastal land will test integrated energy-land planning at its limits.