HCM City (VNA) - HCM City has called for moreinvestment in solar power in the city due to the great potential of the sector.

The city has the opportunity to developsolar power as it is located in an area with strong solar radiation, rangingfrom 4.3KWh/m2 per day to 6.6KWh/m2 per day, according to statistics from municipal authorities.

The HCM City Power Corporation, a pioneerin installing solar power systems, has installed four solar power plants infour locations in the city with total installed capacity of 226KWp.

The corporation plans to install grid solarpower connected to the roofs of 15 offices of the corporation with a totalinstalled capacity of about 800KWp by the end of this year.

The corporation also plans to install solarpower connected to the grid at other units belonging to the corporation as wellas at 220/110KV power stations in the future.

Pham Quoc Bao, Deputy General Director ofthe HCM City Power Corporation, said the installation of the solar powersystems would meet part of the power demand of the buildings, thus saving theoperating costs of the buildings.

Since 2011, the corporation has invested insolar systems to supply electricity to 172 households in Thieng Lieng hamlet inCan Gio district’s Thanh An commune with a monthly electricity output of11,500KWh, he said.

According to Bao, businesses and investorsused to be hesitant in investing in solar power.

However, since 2013, the installed capacityof solar power in the city has increased rapidly, from 200KWp in 2013 to 1MWpin 2015 and 3MWp in July this year.

To promote the use of solar power, the HCMCity Power Corporation has asked the city to continue running programmes orcampaigns to encourage residents to use solar water heaters and install solarpower systems connected to the grid.

The city should also direct exportprocessing zones, industrial zones, hi-tech parks, State agencies, amongothers, to prepare for the installation of solar power equipment in thebuildings.

In addition, the city should also issuepolicies and incentives to support residents and enterprises to install solarpower systems.

More businesses are expected to invest inthe solar energy sector in the future thanks to a recent decision to encourage thedevelopment of solar power projects which took effect in June 2017.

Under the decision, all output produced bysolar power projects will be purchased for 2,086 VND (9.3 US cents) per kWh(excluding VAT) - a profitable rate for investors.

The price will be adjusted in line with theVND/USD exchange rate, and only applied to power grid-connected projects withthe cell efficiency above 16 percent or productivity module over 15 percent.

Investors involved in solar power projectsin Vietnam will be eligible for various incentives related to land, investmentcapital and corporate income and import tax rates.

The decision aims to draw funds to thefield, with many investors interested in the industry.

According to the Foreign Investment Agencyunder the Ministry of Planning and Investment, only 16 foreign-invested greenenergy projects were operating in Vietnam as of the end of last year, withtotal registered capital of 778 million USD, and only 18 percent of them wereinvested in solar power.

The decision is expected to pave the wayfor investors, especially foreign investors, to expand their operations in thesolar power industry.

Last year, HCM City consumed about 3,575MWof electricity, of which renewable energy accounted for 3.96MW, or 0.1 percent.

The city has set a target of increasing itsuse of renewable energy to 1.74 percent, equivalent to 96MW, by 2020.

Since 2015, the city has encouragedresidents and businesses to invest in solar power systems by granting a subsidyof 2,000 VND (10 US cents) per kWh used for domestic purposes or sold to thenational electricity grid.-VNA