Vietnam is a young and fast-growing economy in Southeast Asia that has put effort into internationally tackling climate change issues. By well understanding the energy resources, markets, policies, and scientific studies will help the country move faster towards a cleaner and more sustainable economy. This review indicates that Vietnam has abundant natural resources to develop renewable power; however, the country's economy is still small, lacking financial capacity, advanced technologies and human resources for rapid development of renewable energy. Institutional barriers, such as market-controlled mechanisms and unstable supporting policies, also limit investment in renewable power sectors. Transmission and distribution networks are currently not compatible with power plant construction, leading to high risks for investors. Due to financial and technological constraints, Vietnam still needs to strongly develop fuel-fired power along with renewable energy. As a result, although the energy policies and plans are set towards cleaner production, progress will be slow. Vietnam may need strong support from international organizations and governments to develop better financial capacity, as well as quality human resources and advanced technology in order to transition to a low-carbon economy more rapidly. A better and stronger energy efficiency policy should also be facilitated so that power targets can be achieved at lower costs for the country to release much lower emission levels. Research-based findings also need to be strengthened to support policy-decision making.