By the end of 2018, 54 rooftop solar PV systems had been installed at EVN’s and its member organizations’ office buildings with a total capacity of 3.2MWp.
The Seminar was hosted by EVN with the participation of leaders of the Government Office (International Relations Department), Ministry of Industry and Trade (Department of Energy Saving and Sustainable Development), banks, investors, developers, suppliers of clean energy services in Viet Nam, experts in the field of energy economics, etc.
EVN’s President and CEO Tran Dinh Nhan and Vice President Dinh Quang Tri co-chaired the Seminar.
The current capacity of rooftop solar PV is modest
According to EVN’s President and CEO Tran Dinh Nhan, after 2 years of implementation, so far 365 solar farm projects have been registered for being included in power development master plans with a total capacity of 29,000MWp. Currently, 141 projects have been added to master plans with a total capacity of over 14,000MWp, of which 95 projects have had PPAs concluded with EVN.
However, investments have been concentrated too much in areas with large radiation intensity (such as Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Dak Lak and Binh Phuoc provinces). This situation has put great pressure on the transmission grid system and some plants will probably not operate at full capacity, since to build a transmission line normally needs 3 to 5 years, meanwhile the time required for building a solar power project takes only about 1 year.
The Seminar on "Promoting rooftop solar PV development in Viet Nam" was held at the headquarters of Vietnam Electricity, 11 Cua Bac, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi. Photo: Hong Hoa
With regards to rooftop solar PV installation, after 2 years only 1,800 customers (offices, businesses, households, etc.) have installed PV systems with a total installed capacity of about 30MWp and the power generation output of 3.97 million kWh.
This amount of capacity is very modest compared to the potential one. Therefore, further incentive policies are needed to promote the development of this energy source. From EVN’s perspective, EVN is committed to providing the best support to customers’ needs such as: grid connection, payment of FIT tariff once relevant instructive circulars of ministries are made available; free of charge installation of two-way meters, etc.
EVN’s recommendations
Via the Seminar, EVN would like to put forward a number of recommendations for developing rooftop solar PV projects in provinces and cities which have large potential for solar radiation. In particular, EVN recommends that the Government should consider and introduce a mechanism to support part of initial investment costs for households to install rooftop solar PV systems or a mechanism to motivate the participation of investors (3rd party) in investments.
EVN’s President and CEO Tran Dinh Nhan said that EVN was committed to providing the best support to the development of rooftop solar PV systems in Viet Nam. Photo: Minh Phuong
Another EVN’s proposal is that the Ministry of Industry and Trade should issue a Circular to amend Circular 16 soon so that EVN and power utilities can officially sign contracts and pay tariff to customers; standards for rooftop solar PV technology should be developed to ensure quality, safety and efficiency for customers as well as the power grid system; MOIT should submit to the Prime Minister to promulgate a mechanism for motivating the development of solar power in general and rooftop solar PV in particular after June 30, 2019.
Vietnam Electricity proposes donors, banks, investors, manufacturers, international and domestic organizations’ deep involvement and provision of attractive solutions and service packages to encourage customers to invest in and use rooftop solar power, etc.
The Seminar on "Promoting rooftop solar PV development in Viet Nam" is one of the important business activities of EVN in order to disseminate and implement approaches to incentive policies for investment in and construction of solar power projects in Viet Nam in general and rooftop solar power in particular; exchanging, sharing, updating technologies, techniques, solutions to develop rooftop solar PV for all customer categories including public offices, private businesses and households, etc..
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Presentations and discussions at the Seminar focused on key issues such as:
- Mechanisms and policies for developing rooftop solar PV installations in Viet Nam
- EVN’s processes and procedures for grid connection and signing of power purchase agreements
- Technical standards, grid connection arrangements, PPA signing for rooftop solar PV systems
- Strategy and general plan for developing rooftop solar PV, business model in Viet Nam
- Implementation situation and solutions to promote and develop rooftop solar PV in Viet Nam
- Potential and business models for developing rooftop solar PV in the world and applicability in Viet Nam, etc.
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