Excess rooftop solar power sales in northern Vietnam should be raised to 20% of capacity: Deputy PM

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has requested the Ministry of Industry and Trade to consider raising the proportion of excess rooftop solar power to be connected to the national grid to 20% of installed capacity in northern Vietnam.

The request was made at a meeting for a draft decree on the development of self-use rooftop solar power on Friday.

According to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long, in the final draft, his ministry (MoIT) has proposed self-use rooftop solar power not connected to the national grid be developed without limit.

At present, if people choose to connect excess electricity to the grid, they are only allowed to sell less than 10% of installed capacity. The excess amount connected to the grid must not exceed 2,600 MW by 2030, as stated in the approved National Power Development Plan VIII (PDP VIII).

However, the Deputy PM stated that mobilizing this energy source for the national grid should be based on the country's requirements, actual development, and specific characteristics of each region.

Therefore, he asked the MoIT to consider increasing the proportion of excess electricity connected to the grid to 20% of installed capacity in the northern region. Meanwhile, the rate would be kept at 10% in the central and southern regions as initially proposed.

Regarding the price, Ha asked the MoIT to apply a price following the compensation-deduction mechanism or the lowest offered price on the competitive electricity market at the time of purchase. Previously, the ministry proposed to temporarily apply a price of VND671 (2.6 cents) per kWh.

The proposed price is 58-63% lower than what EVN currently pays to commercial solar power farms, according to a ministry report released Thursday.

This rate will be adjusted annually to align with the development of the electricity system, the ministry said.

The government official noted that the draft should stipulate measures to control and ensure system safety when mobilizing excess capacity for the grid. This should be assigned to local power companies to supervise, he said.

According to Ha, the MoIT should offer clear incentives for organizations and individuals to install storage equipment. "People who invest in devices to store electricity for usage during peak hours should enjoy tax and credit incentives," he stressed.

A leader of Vietnam Electricity's (EVN) Northern Power Corporation said a mechanism is needed to encourage this type of energy in industrial zones and clusters. This would help reduce the load on the local power grid, and become a source of base electricity to be used during peak hours. "This has huge potential that can be realized immediately," he said.

Vietnam currently has about 103,000 rooftop solar power projects, with a total installed capacity of more than 9,500 MW. According to the PDP VIII, the capacity of this power source will increase by 2,600 MW by 2030.