(VEN) – The government has decided to increase the price of wind power from 7.8 to 8.5-9.8 cent/kWh to encourage the development of this type of renewable energy. Due to Vietnam’s growing need for energy and excellent wind power resources, many developers have considered the market for quite some time. However, the tariff published in 2011 and other issues that arose during the development process have slowed projects due to the commercial risks perceived by investors and financing entities. In September, the Prime Minister issued a decision (39/2018/QD-TTg) amending and supplementing the 2011 decision on wind power projects in Vietnam. Wind power projects, which were put into operation before the decision went into effect will be subject to this new price policy from November 1, 2018. Wind power projects benefiting from this policy shall not be subject to other price-based promotion policies. The German foreign aid agency GIZ, which runs an energy support program in Vietnam, applauded the price adjustment, considering it a significant signal for all market actors to invest further in the wind power market in Vietnam. Currently, wind power only accounts for 200MW of installed capacity (with 100MW under construction). GIZ estimates that the technical potential of wind power in Vietnam is huge – at about 27 gigawatts – and able to replace a large share of future planned thermal (coal and gas) power generation. According to Decision 39/2018/QD-TTg, investors are allowed to commence construction of a wind power project only when meeting stipulated conditions including signed electricity… [Read full story]
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