A building in Da Nang city uses solar rooftop to generate power (Photo: nld.vn) Ninh toldlocal media at a recent conference of the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) that Vietnamwill cut 1.3 billion KWh of renewable energy in 2021.
According toEVN's statistics, national electricity output generated from solar power in2020 was 10.6 billion kWh, including 1.15 billion kWh from rooftop solar power,accounting for about 4.3 percent of the total output from the nationalelectricity system.
Ninh said in2020, the regulating agency must reduce 365 million kWh of unexploited solarpower due to overloads of local networks, mainly in central provinces like NinhThuan and Binh Thuan.
By thesecond half of November 2020, due to the excess power from the growth of solarfarms and solar rooftop power, the electricity industry had to make a totalreduction of 35 million kWh.
In 2017, theGovernment issued the first feed-in tariff (FIT) mechanism with the purchaseprice of solar power for all types of 9.35 cents per kWh, until June 30,2019, leading to many solar power projects being licensed rapidly.
In June 2020,the Government moved to a FIT 2 tariff of 7.09 cents per kWh for solarpower on the ground, 7.69 cents for floating solar power, and 8.38 cents perKWh 7.69 cents for rooftop power. On December 31, 2020, the decision expiredand investors must await a new tariff.
Pham QuePhong, Chairman of the Inter Solar Joint Stock Company, said: “If the upcomingFIT 3 price is issued to prioritise dispersed solar rooftop and has a pricedifference between regions according to the rate of radiation, it will promotelots of rooftop solar projects and limit solar farm projects."
"Theloose management has led to the fact that the majority of solar rooftopprojects are actually now solar farms," he said.
Phong saidthe country was estimated to have more than 100,000 rooftop solar powerprojects with a total output of nearly 10,000 MWp but only 20 percent of themwere rooftop solar power constructions and installed on the roofs ofoffices, restaurants and hotels.
He said therest were solar farm projects disguised as rooftop solar power to enjoythe price of 8.38 cents per kWh instead of 7.09 cents per kWh forsolar farms.
Phongpredicted the buying price of rooftop solar power would decrease this yearfollowing the trend in the world, adding: “The reduction will not be much.”
"Households,businesses and administrative agencies with solar roof power should notworry as though the price of electricity is cheaper, the initial investmentcost is also cheaper," he said.
Regardingthe FIT prices of solar power, some companies believed that the adjustment ofthe annual price was reasonable because the prices of solar technology andequipment in the world were declining.
Professor BuiThien Du, a former lecturer of the Electrical Faculty of Hanoi University ofTechnology, said: “The country needs to build a long-term, transparent solarpower development policy roadmap towards protecting the interests of investors,especially local users who have installed solar power at home.”
"Inaddition to the households that install roofs for use, the rest want astable policy to sell electricity to quickly recover capital. Therefore, forrooftop solar projects, it is necessary to have a separate sustainablemechanism to ease the users and investors’ concern. The Government and theMinistry of Industry and Trade should carefully calculate to not repeat theproblems that arose in the past with a seamless policy," he said.
"Cuttingthe solar power is not reasonable, they must find solutions to solve problemsand develop sustainable renewable energy instead," he said.
"It isnecessary to solve the problem of transmission infrastructure by attractingresources, allowing the private participation while the State manages thecapital recovery mechanism for investors, releasing capacity while ensuring theenergy and national security," Du added.
He said thesustainable development of renewable electricity should follow strictcontrols and requires good investment in transmission infrastructure.
Ninh saidthey need to adjust the generating time of small hydroelectricity, avoidingframe from 11am to 1pm, which was the best solar radiation time for rooftopsolar.
Ninh askedthe Government and the MoIT for mechanisms and principles to mobiliserenewable energy sources when the system was redundant or overloaded, addingthe centre was now confused about mobilising different sources.
Du toldlocal media: “A lack of vision in the solar development and matters intransmission grid has resulted in the incomplete capacity of solar electricity.”
He added themechanisms and policies on solar development had been unsustainable and broughtrisks to investors and the people.
Du againsaid Vietnam has to build a long-term and transparent solar powerdevelopment policy roadmap to improve its power industry./.
VNA
