Solar power plants

Vietnam has been witnessing a solar and wind power boom for three years, becoming one of the hottest markets in the world. The managers of a large corporation, for example, are busy these days with meetings discussing solutions to speed up the implementation of the VND2 trillion wind power project in Quang Tri province. They are doing so in order to enjoy the FIT (feed-in-tariff) rate. The preferential prices will be applied to part or entire power plants to be put into commercial operation prior to November 1, 2021 and will be valid for 20 years. Under the Prime Minister’s Decision No 39 dated September 10, 2018, Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) will buy electricity at VND1,927 per kwh, or 8.5 US cents, from onshore wind power projects, and VND2,223 per kwh, or 9.8 cent, from offshore projects. As such, investors have to gear up with project implementation, because they don’t have much more time. But it is not easy to negotiate with the top five equipment suppliers in the world to buy equipment and turbines at this time. The equipment price has increased by 10 percent. After signing equipment procurement contracts, they have to seek companies to install the equipment, hire transport, and do other things at the same time. They are running at full speed to put their plants into operation prior to November 1, 2021. No one knows what the electricity price will be like after the date. The number of solar and wind power projects has been increasing rapidly in the last three years, from the north to the south, from Lang Son to Ca Mau Cape, and both onshore and ashore. Large international groups have also been flocking to Vietnam to exploit the potential market. The heat of the market seems to be beyond all expectations and predictions by policy makers. According to EVN, as of December 31, 2020, the total installation capacity of solar projects had reached 19,400 MWp, including 9,300 MWp of rooftop solar systems, or 16,500 MW, or 25 percent of total …

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The Japanese trading house will pull out of the 2-gigawatt Vinh Tan 3 project, planned to be located in the southern province of Binh Thuan, because of climate change targets, Reuters reported, citing two anonymous sources. Without mentioning Vinh Tan 3 specifically, Mitsubishi said in a statement that it was committed to reducing its investment in coal power in line with international climate goals. The 2-gigawatt plant was originally scheduled to come online in 2024. OneEnergy, a joint venture of Mitsubishi and Hong Kong's CLP group, holds a 49 percent interest in the $2 billion project. State-owned utility Vietnam Electricity owns another 29 percent. Chinese companies are handling materials procurement, construction and equipment delivery. This marks Mitsubishi's first withdrawal from a coal plant project. The trading house has said it will not build any new facilities of this type after Vung Ang 2, a Nikkei report said. Mitsubishi still has a stake in the Vung Ang 2 coal power plant being built in the central province of Ha Tinh, which is more widely known after being subject to critical scrutiny by environmental and other groups as well as investors. …

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The Power Development Master Plan 8 aims to mobilize all domestic and international resources for electricity development, ensuring a sufficient supply of electricity with increasingly high quality and reasonable electricity prices. Specifically, by 2030, the total installed power capacity of Vietnam will reach 137.2 gigawatts (GWs). Of which, coal-fired thermal power accounts for 26 percent; gas-fired thermal power 21 percent; hydroelectricity 18 percent; wind, solar, and other renewable energy 29 percent. In 2045, the total power capacity will nearly hit 276.7 GWs. Of which, coal-fired thermal power accounts for 18 percent; gas-fired power 24 percent; hydroelectricity 9 percent; wind, solar, and other renewable energy above 44 percent. Through the structure of the power source, it shows that the Power Development Master Plan 8 encourages the development of renewable energy, besides hydroelectricity, from about 13 percent in 2020 to nearly 30 percent in 2030, and 44 percent in 2045. Contributing opinions to the Draft National Power Development Plan 8, experts said that many economic and technical factors are difficult to determine. For example, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to develop complicatedly, possibly negatively affecting the supply and demand of the energy system in general and the power system in particular. Besides, the boom in investment registration for renewable energy projects, especially solar and wind power, requires a more appropriate approach in planning, designing, investing, and operating the power system. In particular, it is necessary to have a lucid, transparent, objective, and scientific mechanism to encourage the development of renewable energy. To be able to carry out well the Power Development Master Plan 8 in the current situation, the challenge is that the electricity demand is still growing at a high speed but the primary energy source is increasingly scarce. To ensure electricity supply until 2030, Vietnam is expected to …

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