The Prime Minister has recently approved 15wind power projects in Ninh Thuan province, 12 of which have total registeredcapital of about 27.5 trillion VND (1.2 billion USD).
About 25 solar power projects have beenadded to the existing master plan, 18 of which have total registered capital ofmore than 27.8 trillion VND.
From now until 2030, Ninh Thuan province isexpected to attract further investment for wind power projects, with a totalcapacity of 1,429MW, and solar power projects, with total power of 3,912MW.
To encourage more investment, Ninh Thuan provincehas asked the Prime Minister and Ministry of Industry and Trade to instruct the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) group to emphasise the development of electricitytransmission systems.
When construction of all renewable energyprojects in the province are completed, these transmission systems will becrucially needed.
At the same time, EVN should also consideradjusting electricity prices, the province said.
According to experts, a series of preferentialpolicies on credit, import tax, export tax and corporate income tax haveencouraged the development of renewable energy.
A government decision on solar powerprojects in Vietnam, for example, calls for electricity buyers to purchase allthe electricity generated from grid-connected projects at the price of 2,086VND/kWh (excluding VAT).
The electricity price is adjusted accordingto the exchange rate between the Vietnamese dong and the US dollar.
After the Government increased theelectricity price to 0.93 USD/ kWh last June, about nine projects on renewableenergy generation and distribution were registered by foreign firms each month,according to a report on renewable energy in Vietnam in 2018 by StoxPlus, afinancial and economic information service provider in Vietnam.
Both local and international firms areinterested in investing in the renewable energy sector, which is expected togrow by 23.2 percent between 2020 and 2030.
As of now, Vietnam has a total of 245renewable energy projects which have been deployed in different stages.
If all projects are actually carried out,the amount of clean electricity generated should reach 23.2GW, which is morethan 10 times the target set for total renewable electricity capacity by 2020,according to the national VII power plan.
However, only 19 percent of the projectsare in the construction stage, and only eight percent actually generateelectricity, while the rest are still in the preparation phase.
Vu Thi My Dung, an expert at StoxPlus, saidthat in addition to more preferential policies and incentives from now untilJune 2019, a domestic-foreign joint cooperation model should be considered.
“While domestic firms lack sufficienttechnology, experience and financial capacity, international partners cancomplement this,” she said.
“For the best management, foreign firms canchoose to increase their investment in each phase of the project until theyhold 100 percent of the joint venture capital,” she added.-VNS/VNA