Businesses want to loosen the solar power 'room'

Businesses want to expand "room" to increase solar power installation capacity nationwide - Photo: QUANG DINH

Talking to Tuoi Tre, businesses and experts all said that it is necessary to expand the "room" for self-produced and self-consumed solar power (SPP) installation capacity in each phase, harmonizing the installation needs of businesses with the ability to balance power sources and the dispatching capacity of the electricity industry instead of rigidly stipulating a fixed number until 2030.

Businesses waiting for mechanism

At the Nestlé Binh An factory in Dong Nai province, the company has planned to install solar panels on the factory roof to save energy and reduce emissions. However, due to the incomplete legal corridor, the company is still waiting for new regulations from the Government to implement.

Mr. Phung Huu Cung, factory director, said that increasing the use of renewable energy is necessary in the goal of reducing emissions, but there needs to be a specific support mechanism for businesses to implement.

Similarly, a large enterprise in Ho Chi Minh City installed solar power at retail centers in the South before 2021. However, at centers in the Central and Northern regions, installation has been delayed since 2021 due to different regulations in each locality, causing difficulties for businesses.

Many manufacturing enterprises inside and outside industrial parks in Ho Chi Minh City also want to install rooftop solar power to achieve green certification and reduce electricity costs. However, they face major obstacles in connecting to the grid.

At a seminar on solar power on August 16 in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, emphasized the importance of issuing a mechanism to resolve difficulties in installing solar power for textile and garment enterprises.

Mr. Giang said textile and garment enterprises exporting to demanding markets need to meet "green" standards, which require eliminating boilers using fossil fuels.

If using an electric boiler, production costs will increase by 15-17%. Therefore, installing solar power helps businesses reduce electricity costs and achieve green certification to compete for orders.

Mr. Tran Thien Long, permanent vice president of the Industrial Real Estate Association, also said that the potential for solar power installation in industrial parks is huge.

In Ho Chi Minh City alone, if businesses install simultaneously, the capacity can reach up to 2,000 MW. Mr. Long warned that if they do not use renewable energy and green conversion, businesses will have difficulty exporting.

Want to expand "room" according to needs

According to the draft decree on encouraging self-generating and self-consuming rooftop solar power being developed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the installation of self-generating and self-consuming rooftop solar power not connected to the national power system is not subject to capacity limits.

However, grid-connected systems under 1MW can only develop a maximum total capacity of 2,600MW according to the VIII power plan.

At a recent meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha also requested the Ministry of Industry and Trade to review the conditions as a basis for adjusting the national power development plan, opening "room" for rooftop solar power to self-produce and self-consume, especially in the North.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre, Mr. Nguyen Binh Lam, director of a solar power enterprise in Ho Chi Minh City, said that since 2021, the number of factories that have installed grid-connected solar power systems and have not been recorded or updated with data is very large, possibly exceeding the "room" of 2,600 MW.

Before 2021, businesses mainly raced to install solar power for the purpose of selling electricity, but in the later stages, businesses wanted to use it themselves to achieve green export certificates and reduce dependence on the national grid.

Therefore, Mr. Lam said that it is necessary to expand capacity to help renewable energy projects develop in key industrial areas of all three regions instead of being limited to a very small capacity ratio.

According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, General Director of Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), the North currently has only about 700MW of rooftop solar power, but the actual system capacity can receive about 7,000MW, which is nearly 3 times the development limit of 2,600MW for the whole country.

Mr. Dao Du Duong, General Director of Bao Long Solar Energy Group, said that there are provinces that are only allocated "room" of a few dozen to a few hundred MW while the demand of businesses is very large, which will far exceed the figure of 2,600 MW.

Therefore, Mr. Duong believes that it is necessary to recalculate the capacity level to help clear the bottleneck of this unissued regulation.

Dr. Cao Anh Tuan (energy expert) commented that the capacity limit of 2,600MW is too small compared to the needs of people and businesses.

Therefore, Mr. Tuan proposed that there should be an "open" plan, adjusting capacity according to the needs of people and businesses.

Waiting for EVN service price to buy and sell electricity directly

The government has issued Decree 80 on the direct power purchase agreement (DPPA) mechanism between renewable energy generators and large customers. However, businesses are still waiting for specific instructions to carry out the transaction.

Some large enterprises, especially FDI, have begun negotiating to buy electricity directly from solar power plants through EVN's transmission grid, but still need transmission service prices from EVN to complete the financial calculation.

The leader of an FDI enterprise in Ho Chi Minh City proposed expanding the conditions for participating in DPPA to enterprises with electricity consumption of nearly 200,000 kWh/month to meet the need to reduce carbon emissions.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/doanh-nghiep-muon-noi-room-dien-mat-troi-20240817092728217.htm