Growth in Vietnam



Son La Station
The largest hydroelectric power station in southeast Asia began operating last Friday in Vietnam.

The first of six turbines at the Son La station was connected to the national power grid on Friday, said Hoang Trong Nam, director of the plant's management board.

He said the two-billion-dollar plant with a capacity of 2,400 megawatts is expected to be fully operational in 2012, three years ahead of a target set by the National Assembly.

Vietnam is surging economically. Demand for electricity is growing at 14 percent annually.

From construction start to power on the grid took only five years for the Son La station. I suspect a similar achievement in the U.S. is improbable. Arguably, a large electricity generating project in the United States would need to surmount many more hurdles in licensing and construction than those imposed in Vietnam.