On an early day in December 2022, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Electrical Engineering Division organized a field trip and hands-on learning experience for students majoring in Electro-Mechanical Engineering (67ME1,2,3) at Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant. This is a regular activity of the Faculty and the Division, aiming to bring students closer to real-world practice, update their practical knowledge, and support their professional growth.

Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant, located in Hoa Binh Province, was once the largest hydropower plant in Vietnam and Southeast Asia from 1994 to 2012. As a renewable energy facility, it generates electricity and serves as a key power source for the national grid, contributing to national energy security and playing an important role in the country’s industrialization and modernization. The plant currently has 8 generating units with a total installed capacity of 1,920 MW, and it is being expanded with two additional units of 240 MW. In addition to power generation, the plant also functions as a strategic multi-purpose hydropower project, helping regulate and cut flood peaks, effectively reducing flooding for provinces in the Northern Delta.

During the visit, the delegation was enthusiastically guided through the plant’s scale, construction process, and the operation of each component. Deep inside the mountain where the generating units are installed, students directly observed the generators operating steadily and reliably. They also saw the double overhead crane and the three-phase power rails supplying electricity to the crane.

To better understand how power is delivered to the national grid, the group was guided by the plant’s technical staff to visit the 220 kV / 110 kV / 35 kV distribution substation. The substation is supplied by step-up transformers that raise the generator terminal voltage from 15.75 kV to 220 kV via power cables. From this distribution station, electricity from the plant is transmitted to loads in both Northern and Southern Vietnam through the 500 kV transmission line.

At the end of the operational tour, the delegation visited and offered incense at the Ho Chi Minh monument located at an elevation of 185.6 m. Standing on Ong Tuong Hill, looking into the distance, visitors could feel the plant’s grandeur, see the vast reservoir, and admire the poetic beauty of the Da River—calm like a gentle silk ribbon amid the green mountains and forests of the Northwest.

This study trip and practical experience at the plant provided Electro-Mechanical Engineering students with useful knowledge closely connected to their field, along with memorable moments shared between teachers and students at one of Vietnam’s iconic engineering works of the 20th century.

Some photos from the on-site experience trip at Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant