Endless power on the roof, expensive price 2,156 VND / kWh

The buying price of solar PV continues to apply 1 price for the whole country, unchanged in the direction of division according to 2-region or 4-region scenarios. However, the purchase price of solar PV will drop sharply compared to before.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has just drafted a Decision of the Prime Minister on a mechanism to encourage solar power development

The purchase price of solar power is only 1 price, applicable nationwide.

The most prominent change is with the draft that the Ministry of Industry and Trade reported to the Government more than two months ago that the electricity purchase price for floating solar power and solar terrestrial projects has been agreed in the country (only one region) but no longer divided according to 2-zone scenarios or 4-zone scenario (by radiation intensity).

In which, notably is the change in the purchase price of solar power of grid-connected projects.

Specifically, the electricity purchase price tariff of grid-connected solar power projects at the power delivery point is regulated as follows: Solar terrestrial power projects cost 1,620 VND / kWh, equivalent to 7.09 cents / kWh. The purchase price for the floating solar power project is 1,758 VND / kWh, equivalent to 7.69 cents / kWh. Rooftop solar power project is 2,156 VND / kWh, equivalent to 9.35 cents / kWh.

Electricity purchase price does not include value added tax, is adjusted according to fluctuations of the exchange rate of VND with USD (calculated equivalent to US cents / kWh), the applicable exchange rate is the central rate of VND with US Dollar announced by the State Bank of Vietnam on the date the Electricity Seller issues the payment invoice.

Thus, the price of solar power applied to the grid-connected solar power plants operating after June 2019 will fall sharply, from more than 2,086 VND / number (about 9.35 cents / kwh) to 1,620. This electricity purchase price is applied to part or all of the grid-connected solar power plant with commercial operation date from July 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021 and is applied 20 years from the date of commercial operation.

Only the electricity price option applicable to rooftop solar power projects will remain the same. Accordingly, the draft still proposes to continue applying the electricity price of 9.35 cents / kWh for rooftop solar power projects across the country until the end of 2021.

Another noteworthy point is that for Ninh Thuan province alone, according to the draft, the purchase price of electricity from grid-connected solar power projects is already included in the electricity development planning at all levels and has a commercial operation date before the date. 1/1/2021 with a total cumulative capacity of not more than 2,000 MW is kept unchanged at VND 2,086 / kWh (equivalent to 9.35 cents / kWh). Grid-connected solar power projects with commercial operation date from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 are subject to the electricity purchase tariff of VND 1,620 / kWh for the solar terrestrial project; 1,758 VND / kWh for the floating solar power project.

In the first drafts, the Ministry of Industry and Trade consulted with plans to divide into 4 regions. In the plan of 4 regions, region 1 (the least potential region, concentrated in the northern provinces) has the highest price (2,102 VND / kWh); region 2 (1,809 VND / kWh); region 3 (1,620 VND / kWh), in particular, region 4 – region with the highest potential (Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan …) has the lowest price of 1,525 VND / kWh. 1 scenario is a 2-zone option. According to the division of 2 regions, the highest price for rooftop solar power in zone 1 is 8.38 cents per kWh (about 1,916 VND); the lowest is 7.09 cents (equivalent to 1,758 dong) per kWh for the solar-ground power project. Zone 2 includes 6 provinces with good radiation such as Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, … Zone 1 is the rest.