Ho Chi Minh , a city in Vietnam, plans to have 1,000 MWp of solar rooftop power capacity installed by 2024 in its industrial parks, export processing zones, and high-tech parks from 700MWp now.
On June 19 HCM City Export Processing Zones and Industrial Parks Authority (Hepza), Hepza Business Association (HBA), and Electricity of HCM City (EVN) launched a program in the zones to encourage businesses to participate and to meet the goal of 1,000 MWp.
“More than 1,000 factories in the city’s numerous industrial zones have signed up to install solar rooftop energy with BCG Energy, a subsidiary of Bamboo Capital Group”, Nguyen Van Be, Chairman of the HBA, said.
Be added that, “The city has 17 IPs and EPZs with a total area of more than 4100ha where rooftop solar can be installed on 500-1000ha. Installing solar panels on their roof would also enable the factories to reduce the temperatures inside by 4-5 degrees Celsius.”
1000MWp of solar power would mean a cut in carbon emissions of 23 million tonnes, The association said.
Participating businesses would get technical and financial advice and will add to their brand value, increase competitiveness, and could sell solar power to EVN HCM City, Be added.
The national grid was under increasing pressure to ensure the supply of electricity. Since traditional sources such as thermal power affect the environment, renewable energy including rooftop solar would be one of the solutions to reduce the pressure, Nguyen Le-Tan, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, said.
Bui Trung Kien, Deputy Director of EVN HCMC, said that “Amid climate change Vietnam also faced the problem of finding new sources of energy. Green and clean renewable energy could gradually replace traditional sources, and so rooftop solar is supported by businesses,” he said.
Be also added that “Solar rooftop might hold the answer to the country’s energy shortage in the future and cutting carbon emissions. EVN HCMC would introduce popular rooftop solar models and brands to them and provide technological and technical support.
The Prime Minister of Vietnam has issued a new mechanism of solar rooftop encouraging the development of solar power in Vietnam as the older order expires on June 30, 2019. Based on the decision, Power Corporations will sign electricity purchase and payment contracts for RSP projects that have closed the meter readings to begin electricity delivery and payment and electricity bill payment from July 1, 2019. The RSP project is a solar power system with PV panels installed on the roof of construction work and a capacity not exceeding 01MW (or not more than 1.2 MWp), directly or indirectly connected to a power grid of 35kV or lower.
This decision issued by the Prime Minister officially takes effect as a “push” to create momentum for the RSP development. With many benefits for investors as well as the community, the installation of the RSP system in recent years has attracted interest from people and enterprises.
