In order to create the Nam Dinh power station about 300 households are being relocated and will only receive minimal compensation.

Local livelihoods will be impacted through the effects of the construction and operation of the plant. Farming land and aquaculture will be impacted across the plant’s coal ash area. Local aquaculture will likely be impacted during operation due to the discharge of waste. These communities were already impacted by the Formosa environmental disaster in 2016, which killed sea life along a 200 kilometer coastline and incited many environmental protests. Community members are worried the Nam Dinh power plant will destroy life in the Ninh Co river.

Existing coal-fired power plants already pose significant health risks for Vietnamese citizens, the Nam Dinh power station will worsen these health impacts. A 2017 study by Harvard University has estimated that air pollution from similar existing plants is responsible for 4,300 premature deaths in 2011. This number is expected to rise to 21,100 by 2030 if the scheduled new coal power plants are built in Vietnam. The health risks are higher for children, the pollution from carbon dioxide, mercury and arsenic can lead to lung injuries, nerve diseases and cardiovascular infections.

The Vietnamese government announced in 2016 it would drop plans for further coal-fired power plants, after a commitment to limit Vietnam’s contribution to climate change. Unfortunately the government has failed to follow through, and in fact Vietnam is planning to start exploiting the Red River coal basin to provide coal for the Nam Dinh plant. The Vietnam Sustainable Energy Alliance (VSEA) has, in cooperation with the WWF, published a study according to which Vietnam can supply 100% of its electricity demand from renewable energy, proving that there is no need for the plant in the first place.

The plant will contribute to already existing air pollution both during construction and operation phases. The plant will emit fine dust, CO2, SO2 and NOx. Material transport will add to this pollution.

The plant will likely also cause water problems as it takes an incredible amount of water to construct and operate the plant. The water will be used for cooling and the heated water will likely be released into the Ninh Co river, which the plant is located on (7km upstream from the coast), where the temperature difference will be highly detrimental for aquatic life.

The project's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was passed in 2012 and is potentially out of date. Even a more recent EIA could be unreliable as the methodology for drafting EIAs in Vietnam is flawed and the Vietnamese minister for Resources and Environment, Hong Ha, has called the current regulation unfeasible.