The government this month requested the Ministry of Industry and Trade to review and re-submit the Power Development Plan VIII as the scheme is geared towards speeding up establishment of a competitive electricity market.

Vietnam’s total output of electricity from renewable energies hit 9.5 billion kWh in the first four months of 2021, up 156.9% year-on-year, and accounting for 11.8 percent of the total electricity output, according to Vietnam Electricity.

Reducing the cost of capital for offshore wind power projects in Vietnam will be the main driver for lowering electricity costs and encouraging investment in such projects, 

The Feed in Tariff (FIT) price of VND2,000 per kwh will expire in seven months, but the price for the next period has not been fixed yet.

Wind and solar power continues to be prioritized but solutions are needed to ensure the safety of the electricity system when operating volatile sources of energy.

Wind power developers, who are running against time to put their projects into operation prior to November 2021, now face another problem: they may not get a VAT (value added tax) refund because of certain regulations.

Sharing the same fate as solar power, sales of wind power in Vietnam are expected to be difficult because of "severe excess electricity" at some point in time.

Vietnam has been witnessing a solar and wind power boom for three years, becoming one of the hottest markets in the world.

Since wind and solar power projects cannot provide all the electricity output to the national grid, building an energy storage system is being considered.

Gas-fired thermal power is catching the attention of foreign and domestic investors, now that Vietnam plans to stop new coal-fired power projects, according to the eighth national power development plan.

Vietnam Electricity will conduct price marketization to encourage investment in electricity industry and follow the State-regulated market mechanism.

Over 100,000 rooftop solar power works with total capacity of 9,300 MW were connected to the national grid by December 31, 2020.

The Prime Minister has warned that if electricity shortages occur, some officials will lose their positions.

The Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) on December 26 announced that it would stop purchasing electricity from rooftop solar power projects developed after December 31 until the prime minister issues a new decision.

The cooperation between leading power developers is expected to make the energy-centered bilateral trade target achievable.

Vietnam Electricity (EVN) on December 6 signed various Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with investors of power projects in Laos to develop and purchase electricity from the neighbouring country in the time ahead.

Investors continue to pour money into solar and wind power projects, but the total capacity of approved renewable energy projects could exceed the transmission line capacity.

Most of the components used to make solar panels are recyclable. Expired solar panels will not be a danger if there are reasonable regulations and good technologies.

Bui Van Kien, deputy director general of the National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT) under Vietnam Electricity (EVN), talks about the risks of falling behind schedule on the North-South 500kV power line in the central region.

Tens of solar power projects are awaiting to be added to the list of power generation projects to be developed. Meanwhile, ministries are still discussing the new pricing mechanism after the preferential FIT expires.