The government is considering incentives to develop solar power projects in Vietnam, promises to bring many new opportunities in the context of more and more investors and foreign investment proposed power projects present.

Details have not been disclosed, but two days ago, the Standing Government official meeting on developing mechanisms to encourage solar power projects in Vietnam, before the Prime Minister issued decisions related to this mechanism. If passed, this will be the boost support to promote the development of solar power in Vietnam.

In fact, more and more investors and foreign investment proposed solar power projects in Vietnam, in addition to the Tianjin project has started construction in Quang Ngai province, with a capacity of 19.2 MW, total investment of 826 billion, expected the national grid in 2016.

Earlier this week, leaders of Quang Nam province is once again working with the Group Finance Holdings Royale Star Pte., Ltd. (Singapore) about plans to invest in solar power projects this locality. Early last year, the Royale Star joined Arman Holding Group Wordwide (Russia) to Quang Nam proposals for cooperation with JSC Investment Natural Energy Development (Vietnam) to implement the construction of a power plant solar with 100 MW capacity is expected to total investment of about 140 million.

Also last year, the two companies from the UK is G.T & Associates and Marshall & Street Ltd has proposed to build in Quang Nam solar power plant with a total investment of about 225 million. In particular, Phase I, an investment of about 75 million, 50 MW; Phase II, $ 150 million capital investment, capacity of 100 MW.

Meanwhile, last week, Quang Ngai province also has a written agreement on the principle of allowing Kimin Power Company Limited (UK) is the research and survey reports are pre-feasibility studies of investment energy projects solar capacity of 150 MW in the area of about 250 hectares of land belonging to the Prussian An commune, Duc Pho district. With such scale, if investment decisions, Kimin Power will have to steep a few hundred million dollars of capital account.

That's just the new investors. If including investors from more than 1 years visited Vietnam to seek investment opportunities, the solar power projects may include Hanwha (Korea) with investment plans plant with a capacity of 100 - 200 MW and an investment of about $ 200 million in Thua Thien Hue; or Solar Park (South Korea) with 300 MW proposed project, invested 550-600 million USD in Ha Tinh. Tata Power, a subsidiary of the Tata Group (India), besides investment determination of thermal power project in Soc Trang, also looking for investment opportunities for wind power projects and solar power in Soc Trang and Ninh Thuan.

In Ninh Thuan, in the middle of last year, Ltd. Wind Energy Solutions HBRE also reported to the Provincial People's Committee on the investment project HBRE solar power plant with capacity of 30 MW, the total investment of about 40 million dollars.

And Tianjin, outside the project broke ground in Quang Ngai, also plans to invest in a solar power project scale "crisis" the most ever in Vietnam in Ninh Thuan. The project is invested up to $ 2 billion, 1,000 MW scale. Ninh Thuan Tianjin Solar will be invested in several stages, with 5 factories, which, in the first plant with a capacity of 50 MW, will be built by 2016. By 2020, Tianjin will complete build the 5 plants, including plant 4 and 5 have a capacity of 300 MW.

To implement construction projects, within the framework of the visit to Vietnam by US President Barack Obama recently, Tianjin has contracted to buy the solar panels by First Solar Corporation, worth tens of millions of dollars.

Development opportunities are huge, with many investors interested, but just as with wind power, most of the existing solar power project is proposed stopping new, or new investment certificate, rather undeveloped. The cause is still derived from the purchase price is said to be very low power. Ministry of Commerce figures each proposal is 11.2 cents / kWh, higher than the current price of wind power is 7.8 US cents / kWh. However, investors still believe that this price is too low, not enough to encourage the deployment of solar power projects.

According to investors, solar energy will play an active role in reducing the pressure on power supply during peak periods in Vietnam from 9h30 to 11h30 daily by changing needs and provide additional electricity to the grid electricity. If compared, the purchase price proposed solar power is even lower than the purchase price of electricity from small hydropower plants during peak hours - currently at 12.38 US cents / kWh. Rates are also lower than the retail price that EVN customers using high voltage electricity in peak hours, the average was 14.4 cents / kWh.

The report "Greening the power pack - the expansion policy of solar power in Vietnam", was United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published recently, has proposed buying price of solar power into the grid national is 15 cents / kWh in mainland and 19 US cents / kWh islands apart during 20 years.

Nguyen Duc