Vietnam to buy excess rooftop solar power from homes and offices

EVN, Vietnam’s national power grid operator, plans to buy solar-generated extra strength from homes and offices to use in its own power supply, according to state media reports on Friday.

According to online news service VnExpress, deputy prime minister Tran Hong Ha has instructed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to operate on a plan to purchase top power, with a suggested offtake quantity of up to 10 %, citing a government speech.

The authorities are proposing a price of 671 dong ( US$ 0.0264 ) per kWh for the excess power from rooftop solar panels, the report said.

If approved, the amount would be less than half the price of electric EVN is buying from thermal fields, it said.

According to a king power development plan approved by the government in May of last year, Vietnam wants to have half of its office buildings and houses powered by rooftop solar panels by 2030. According to the plan, the nation has solar energy potential of up to 963 gigawatts ( GW).

According to the VnExpress review, Vietnam has 103, 000 top solar projects with a total installed capacity of 9.5 GW.

The government announced last week that a new order would be enacted to allow factories to purchase light straight from renewable energy sources via Direct Power Purchase Agreements.