Transmission congestion
Vietnam Electricity (EVN) had a working session with the local authorities of Ninh Thuan province and investors of renewable energy power plants regarding solutions to evacuate power of renewable energy plants in this province.
According to EVN's report, there are currently 41 wind and solar power projects in Ninh Thuan province with a total capacity of 2,447MW which have been approved for being included in the master plan. In particular, up to June 30, 2019, 18 power plants with a total capacity of 1,156MW had been put into operation. These power plants have been connected to the national grid mainly through Thap Cham - Vinh Tan 220kV transmission line and Thap Cham - Phan Ri 110kV transmission line.
The fact that many solar power plants have been put into operation in a short time has caused an overload on the grid system of 110kV – 500kV, because the implementation of transmission grid projects have not kept up with the development progress of solar power plants.
Although EVN and its member units have implemented synchronous solutions, in order to maximize the evaluation of energy of clean power plants and have reported to the Government, the Ministry of Industry and Trade to add power transmission projects into the master plan. However, in reality, things have not been carried out as fast as expected, especially with obstacles in compensation and site clearance.
To overcome difficulties in evacuating power from solar energy sources in Ninh Thuan province, EVN has proposed a new approach to be applied for temporarily installing two 220kV substations (Vinh Tan and Phuoc Thai), which are expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2020. This project will be invested and constructed by a non-EVN investor, then it will be leased by EVN for operation. In this direction, the new substations will basically absorb all the power from solar energy plants to be put into operation before June 30, 2019.
The proposal to jointly build temporary substations has been shared and expedited by investors such as Nha Trang Bay Construction Joint Stock Company and Trung Nam Solar Power Joint Stock Company. EVN has suggested that Ninh Thuan province will take the lead and report to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the implementation mechanism.
The coming into operation of many solar power plants in a short time has caused overload of the grid system. Photo source: baodautu.vn
Confused in determining tariff
Until this moment when the preferential feed in tariff has expired for more than 3 months, the Government has not yet decided on a new FIT scheme for solar power for the next period, until the end of 2021. Over the last 6 months, many drafts of new feed in tariffs applicable for solar power have been proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, but so far no decisions have been made yet.
In April 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed a draft introducing a scheme of four solar FIT zones, with the aim of decentralizing solar power projects, avoiding many projects located in the same areas with good radiation potential which may cause transmission grid overloads. Not to mention the fact that solar power projects are concentrated in some certain areas will cause more difficulties to the operability of the power transmission system, to the compensation and site clearance, etc. After being asked to further study a two-zone scheme instead of the proposed four-zone scheme, to encourage a rational development of solar power in areas with potential and development advantages, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed the two-zone scheme.
At a meeting of the Government's Standing Committee on July 30, 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Trade was asked again to study an additional scheme in which a uniform solar power feed in tariff will be applied nationwide. The Vietnam Energy Association has submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister regarding a mechanism to encourage the development of solar power projects in Vietnam and stated that the proposed uniform feed in tariff application for solar power of the Ministry Industry and Trade is not reasonable and should be reconsidered. Not to mention, according to many opinions, the auction scheme to select investors of solar power projects helps increase transparency and lower the feed in tariff of solar power, which is drawing attentions from many functional agencies.
The fact shows that when the planning is not made well, everything will be in the passive position.
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Solar power booming
By the end of June 2019, there are 88 grid-connected solar power projects with a total capacity of nearly 4,500MW and rooftop solar PV systems of 154.6MW capacity in operation across the country. In addition, more than 200 solar power projects with a total capacity of 17GWp have been registered to be implemented in the period from now to 2025.
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