The Decision 13/2020 on the development of solar power in Vietnam was released by the government on April 6, 2020.

Vaibhav Saxena, foreign lawyer at Vietnam International Law Firm, discusses how Decision No.13/2020/QD-TTg will impact the Vietnamese solar power market.

Instead of rushing to build wind and solar power plants as seen a year ago, investors now have no other choice but to wait.

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on April 21 launched a project on promoting low-carbon transformation in the energy sector for the 2020-2030 period and with a vision to 2050.

Decision No.13/2020/QD-TTg on encouraging mechanisms for solar power development in Vietnam sets the deadline of December 31 for solar systems of any scale to attain a certificate of delivery and enjoy the feed-in tariff 2 (FiT2) rate, 

In the first three months, EVN mobilised 2.76 billion kWh of renewable energy, including 2.31 billion kWh of solar power, signifying a 28-fold increase on-year.

Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) group has required the Ministry of Industyr and Trade (MoIT) to publish the list of grid-connected solar power projects which were added to the power planning of Ninh Thuan.

The Government has officially decided to approve a new feed-in-tariff mechanism to encourage development of solar power in Vietnam.

While Vietnam’s wind investors are in a race to reap incentives before the November 2021 deadline hits, concerns remain that a boom in solar power projects will lead to a reduction in capacities.

Investors are no longer rushing to pour money into solar power projects because the new solar power purchase price is considered unattractive.

Vietnam will reduce the total capacity of coal-fired thermal power plants from 2020 until 2030, according to the National Steering Committee for Electricity Development.

Vietnam has enacted its strategic orientations for energy development through to 2030 and with a vision for the next quarter of a century, encouraging more of the private sector to develop for the future, and ensuring energy security.

The Politburo will encourage all economic sectors, especially private businesses, to invest in energy projects, Party General Secretary, President Nguyen Phu Trong has said.

National green credit programs will help Vietnam reach its goals in the national green development strategy in a comprehensive way and help drive the economy towards sustainable development.

With the new policy on choosing investors through bidding, the hot race of developing solar power projects is expected to cool down.

2019 was a special year for solar power investors: they sprinted in the first half of the year to fulfill projects, but have been idle since July, and are now waiting for a new policy.

The prices of oil and coal have been decreasing, which is expected to improve the profits of power companies.

Vietnam has offered a very high price for solar power to attract investment in this energy segment, but the country now has to recalculate the pricing to ensure sustainable development for this renewable energy.

Vietnam's most important hydropower reservoirs are lacking a total of 11 billion cubic meters of water compared to normal levels.

While direct power purchase agreements have been one of the key drivers of global renewable energy infrastructure, especially in wind and solar, there is no defined plan for a pilot mechanism in Vietnam yet.