Study on criteria for developing national renewable energy Hub: Case study in Ninh Thuạn Province, Vietnam

•The Renewable Energy Hub (REH) can save ground and water surface, minimize the cost of connecting to the utility grid, and reduce the power loss of the regional distribution grid.•A set of 30 criteria is proposed to identify, monitor, and evaluate the development process of a sustainable REH.•Based on these criteria, policymakers can make better decisions, operate more effectively, clearly observe the strengths and the weaknesses of the main parts of the REH.•A case study applying the criteria for Ninh Thuan province, Vietnam are determined. The Renewable Energy Hub (REH) is known as a geographical area that has the conditions to exploit renewable energy sources (wind and solar) on a large and concentrated scale. REH brings great economic efficiency per unit of land use and supplies the power to the utility grid. However, the large-scale exploitation of wind and solar energy shall take away land and water for the production of local people, change the local labor structure and affect directly the economic life, social, and environment of the project area. At present, Vietnam is also studying to build large-scale REH but the concept of a REH is completely new in this nation. Besides, the model structure and operating mechanism of REH need to be clarified to ensure sustainable development. In this study, a set of 30 criteria is proposed to identify, monitor, and evaluate the development process of a sustainable REH. Based on these criteria, policymakers can make better decisions, operate more effectively, clearly observe the strengths and the weaknesses of the main parts of the REH. In addition, these criteria also help in early warning and prevention of economic, social, and environmental consequences related to renewable energy development. The study results of the case study show that Ninh Thuan province is fully qualified to become the first national REH in Vietnam. Indicators of wind and solar power potential are nearly maximum value of 1, legislation and policy are timely promulgated with the 2011 and 2019 indicators of 0.453 and 0.576, but REH in Ninh Thuan is just found with scattered development of relevant fields without good synchronization because socio-economics and environment indicators were 0.028 and 0.417, respectively.