Near completion

The sun was burning hot, but workers at the Dau Tieng 1, 2 and 3 solar power construction sites in Tay Ninh were still busy.

“We are very near the finishing point,” said Vu Hung Cuong, chief of the construction site. The project is now ready to provide the first 150 MW of electricity to the national grid, while the rest of the capacity will connect with the grid no later than June 30.

The 500 MW solar power project developed by Dau Tieng Tay Ninh Energy JSC is the biggest of this kind in Vietnam, capitalized at VND12.7 trillion.

Euro Plast in Long An is also sprinting to put their solar power plant into operation prior to June 30. Sao Mai Company, the investor of the VND1.157 trillion project, estimates that with the capacity of 70-80 million kwh per annum, the project would bring the revenue of VND160 billion a year.

Duc Hue 1 solar power field developed by Thanh Thanh Cong Group, located near Euro Plast, is nearly completed. The investor will only have to create the inner transport system and fence around the field.

Duc Hue 1 and Thanh Thanh Cong has six solar power plants, and all of them are expected to become commercially operational prior to June 30.

High risks for late arrivals

Not all solar power developers can reach the ‘finish point’ before July. But even if they can, they may face other risks. As the national grid is overloaded, it cannot receive all the electricity capacity to be provided by power plants.

According to MOIT, the total capacity of programmed and licensed projects has reached 37,000 MW.

The current electricity output at this moment is 46,000 MW. It took Vietnam 60 years to obtain this figure.

The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) said that despite the regular electricity transmission network upgrading over many years, the network won’t be able to receive more electricity from solar power projects.

A source from MOIT said the ministry is drafting a new legal document with a new mechanism offering fewer preferences to solar power developers.

It is expected that the electricity price in the areas with the most potential would be lowered to VND1,525 per kwh.

Meanwhile, Cuong from Dau Tieng project said he personally thinks solar power cannot completely replace coal-fired power and Vietnam will still have to develop different sources of power at the same time.

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Luong Bang