The new feed-in tariff for rooftop solar energy may be set at 5.3-5.8 US cents per kWh, 30 per cent less than the 8.38 US cent that was previously applied to projects starting operation before December 31, 2020.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is completing a draft decision on the feed-in tariff (FiT) for rooftop solar energy, which will replace part of Decision No.13/2020/QD-TTg on the mechanism of encouraging the development of solar power in Vietnam, which expired on December 31, 2020.
The EREA mentioned that Decision No.13 plays an important role in promoting the development of rooftop solar. By the end of 2020, there were 101,029 operational rooftop solar projects connected to the power grid with a total capacity of 9,300MWp. The total generated power from this segment was 1.5 billion kWh.According to the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority (EREA) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the ministry will collect opinions from ministries and relevant authorities before submitting the draft to the prime minister for approval.
Along with the proposed reduction of the FiT, there are two other highlights to the draft. Notably, small-scale projects will be prioritised by receiving higher FiT rates. Besides, a maximum of 80 per cent of the total generated power will be available for commercial sales, while the remaining 20 per cent will have to be consumed by the generators themselves to cover their own operations.
*Decision 13 defined a rooftop solar power project as a system of solar PV panels with a total capacity not exceeded 1MW (or 1.2MWp) set up on a building roof and directly or indirectly connected to the electricity grid of a maximum voltage of 35kV.
