After the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 11/2017/QD-TTg, solar power projects have been developing very rapidly, most of them are located in great potential provinces such as Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai chaired the press conference
The approval and addition of solar power projects into provincial power development master plans which have not been connected to the national power development master plan (220 – 500 kV power transmission projects under the national power development master plan), have led to the overloading status of power grids in some provinces.
According to the Electricity and Renewable Energy Agency, in the process of developing and reviewing master plans, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been aware of this situation. Therefore, at decisions of including projects into master plans, it is clearly stated: In case the transmission grid does not meet power evacuation requirements, renewable energy projects must cut down their generation outputs to ensure the safety of the power system.
Immediately after approving additional plans, the Ministry of Industry and Trade reported to the Prime Minister solutions to evacuate power from renewable energy sources. At the end of 2018, the Prime Minister agreed to add power transmission projects into the national power development plan.
However, the investment and construction of 220 – 500kV transmission grids takes a lot of time (at least 2 years for a 220kV project and 3 years for a 500kV project), while the time needed to construct a solar power project is about 6 months. Therefore, the development of transmission grids does not keep up with the progress of solar power plants.
That is not to mention, the implementation of power grid projects to evacuate power from renewable energy sources is facing many difficulties and obstacles with regards to the execution of Planning Law, as well as in the land acquisition and site clearance.
Also according to the Electricity and Renewable Energy Agency, in order to promptly and fully evacuate power from solar power projects, especially in Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed that the Government should accept socialization and attract private investors to be involved in the construction of power transmission projects. At the same time, the Ministry requested Vietnam Electricity to accelerate the progress of its power grid projects.
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As of June 30, 2019, there are 82 solar power plants, with a total capacity of about 4,464MW, coming into operation across the whole country.
These projects are entitled to enjoy a feed-in tariff equivalent to Uscent 9.35/kWh for a period of 20 years under Decision No. 11/2017/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister.
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