Under the Prime Minister’s Decision No.11/2017/QD-TTg, solar power installations that reach their commercial operation date (COD) by June 30, 2019, are entitled to a feed-in tariff (FIT) of 9.35 cents per kilowatt-hour for a period of 20 years. Investors had had their hopes up after, on June 20, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue reportedly had agreed in principle at a meeting with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) that the effective date for projects in Ninh Thuan would be extended to the end of 2020. Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan are central provinces that have the greatest potential for renewable energy in the country. Investors were hopeful that the decision for extension would first be issued for Ninh Thuan projects in July and extended nationwide later this year. In early July the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), in coordination with MoIT, recommended the COD extension to the government. But the hopes have now been dashed with the Government Office issuing Official Letter No. 7108 stating the deadline remains unchanged but without mentioning a reason. “What remains unclear is whether the MoIT and MPI would continue pushing for a nationwide COD extension,” Oliver Massmann, a partner at law firm Duane Morris LLC, said in a note via email to his clients. “Time is of essence now, yet everything is still up in the air. For prudent reasons, we would have to advise IPPs (independent power producers) to go with smaller projects now for the purpose of plausible construction… [Read full story]
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