Wednesday, March 17, 2021, 22:39 GMT+7
A file photo shows a Ho Chi Minh City resident cleans solar panels installed on the roof of his house. Photo: Tuyet Kieu / Tuoi Tre
Vietnam plans to cut the feed-in tariff for rooftop solar panels by 30.8-37.9% in a bid to reduce pressure on the national power grid following a recent boom in installed capacity, state media reported on Wednesday.
Vietnam has had one of the fastest growing renewable energy markets in Asia in recent years, but the development of its transmission system has lagged, leaving several of its new solar power plants operating below designed capacity.
Unravelling the past, present and future of solar policy in Vietnam
Solar installs throughout 2020 took Vietnam’s cumulative capacity to more than 19.4GW. Image: JinkoSolar.
Vietnam’s year-end solar installation figure of 9GW captured headlines in January 2021. But how did Vietnam grow its cumulative solar installations from a 2018 base of 106MWp, according to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Renewable Capacity Statistics, to year end 2020 cumulative PV capacity of over 19.4GWp?
In a word, policy. The uncapped solar Feed-in Tariff (FIT) incentive policies to be more specific.
Cumulative solar capacity of ASEAN nations. IRENA (2020), Renewable Energy Statistics 2020, EVN (2021)
The original FIT1
The new FiT for rooftop solar may be set at 5.3-5.8 US cents per kWh, instead of the 8.38 US cent that was applied to projects starting before the end of 2020.
In brief
On 21 January 2021, the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority of Vietnam (EREA) submitted Report No. 20/BC-DL to the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade in charge. The report requests the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT)’s internal approval of the draft of the Prime Minister’s decision on the selection of investors for grid-connected solar power projects in Vietnam (“
Draft Decision”).
This Draft Decision would apply the selection mechanism on a long-term basis. Bidding rounds will be conducted based on a so-called Renewable Energy Development Plan formulated by the MOIT for each five-year period. A more specific plan will be circulated on a biannual basis.
UK investors eye renewable energy in Vietnam 16:05 | 26/02/2021
A wind farm in Binh Thuan province (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi - Investors from the UK were showing significant interest in investing in renewable energy projects in Vietnam, especially wind power, expecting the Vietnamese Government to introduce long-term support policies as well as simplification of procedures for project implementation.
British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward said at the UK â Vietnam Renewable Energy Dialogue on Wednesday that clean energy was becoming a global trend, adding that every 1 investment USD in clean energy would help generate from 3-8 USD.
The Vietnamese Government in 2015 approved the renewable energy development strategy to 2030 with a vision to 2050 which aimed to increase the percentage of renewable power from 35 percent in 2015 to 38 percent in 2020 and 43 percent in 2050.