Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An chaired the conference
On the side of Vietnam Electricity (EVN), there were Mr. Tran Dinh Nhan - President and CEO of EVN, and Mr. Ngo Son Hai - Vice President of EVN.
5 transitional renewable energy projects completed procedures are expected to generate electricity soon
According to information from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), there are 85 renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 4,736.16MW (including 8 solar power projects and 77 wind power projects) that do not meet the conditions for applying the FIT electricity selling price at Decision No. 13/2020/QD-TTg dated April 6, 2020, of the Prime Minister. Therefore, MoIT has issued Circular No. 15/2022/TT-BCT and Decision No. 21/QD-BCT as a basis for EVN and transitional projects to negotiate electricity prices to ensure that they do not exceed the power generation price bracket issued by MoIT.
As of May 26, 2023, 52 out of 85 transitional solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 3,155MW (accounting for 67%) have submitted documents to EVN to negotiate electricity prices and power purchase agreements (PPAs). Currently, there are 39 plants with a total capacity of 2,063.7MW that have proposed a temporary electricity price equal to 50% of the ceiling of the price bracket, of which 19 projects or project parts have been approved temporary price by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and signed a PPA.
In addition, there are 17 transitional power plants being procedure completed by EVN to submit to MoIT for temporary price approval in May 2023.
There are 16 projects connected to the grid for testing. 5 projects with a total capacity of 391MW have completed all documents and are eligible for commercial power generation, which can be connected to the grid immediately after completing the test.
This is a positive signal, showing the negotiation efforts of the investors and Vietnam Electricity in the spirit of harmonizing the interests of the parties. The implementation status of transitional renewable energy projects is updated by EVN on the website www.evn.com.vn.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An chairing conference - Photo: Ngoc Tuan
According to Deputy Minister Dang Hoang An, MoIT has directed EVN, provincial Departments of Industry and Trade, and agencies of the Ministry to speed up negotiations as well as coordinate with investors to complete procedures. However, on the side of investors, efforts should also be made to complete the missing procedures, especially in terms of investment and land policies under the authority of local State agencies. These are the legal procedures related to the project that the investor must complete following the law when putting the project into commercial operation.
On the side of EVN, EVN President and CEO Tran Dinh Nhan said that before the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on May 17, 2023, EVN actively worked with the investor to propose a temporary price. Currently, EVN's member units have been actively coordinating with investors to carry out the prescribed procedures under EVN's authority to put projects into commercial operation soon.
The electricity import is carefully calculated
Explaining the electricity import, Deputy Minister Dang Hoang An said, the imported electricity output is relatively small, of which about 7 million kWh/day is imported from Laos and 4 million kWh/day from China. The North's power output is 450 million kWh/day while the total imported electricity output is only more than 10 million kWh/day, so the imported electricity proportion is very low.
“These sources are not imported for lack of. We have been buying electricity from China since 2005. We also import electricity from Laos under an intergovernmental agreement. We also sell electricity to Cambodia for a long time based on agreements between neighboring countries," Deputy Minister Dang Hoang An shared.
In the coming time, the North will enter the peak of the sunny season. Therefore, besides the solutions of the Power sector, such as ensuring the units have no problems and reliable operation; ensuring enough fuel for power generation; reasonably regulating hydropower reservoirs, etc., the whole society joining hands in saving electricity will contribute the Power sector to overcome difficulties in power supply, Deputy Minister Dang Hoang An shared.