Removing barriers for renewable energy to grow stronger

Energy is the lifeblood of the economy

The world and Vietnam are in a process of strong transformation. It can be seen that never before has the world been moving towards so many development trends at the same time as it is now. There are trends that have quickly become revolutions, becoming an era of global, inevitable, irreversible development, such as: Digital industrial revolution, green industrial revolution, era of artificial intelligence (AI), smart era, green era...

In 2025, Vietnam aims for economic growth of over 8% and strives for double-digit growth. From 2026 onwards, the target is for double-digit economic growth (ie 10% or more); along with that, digital transformation and green transformation will be implemented with increasing speed and application of high technology and artificial intelligence.

Associate Professor, Dr. Huynh Thanh Dat - Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission

Therefore, to achieve economic growth targets as well as respond to strategic changes in operating methods (including learning, working, and production) mainly based on digital platforms, it is required that resources serving this process must have more appropriate and effective adjustments and planning. One of the fundamental and vital resources is electricity and green, clean energy sources.

Speaking at the recent Vietnam Energy Forum 2025, Associate Professor, Dr. Huynh Thanh Dat - Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission affirmed that energy is the lifeblood for socio-economic development and improving people's quality of life. Development practice shows that energy is not only a key factor but also determines the country's ability to develop sustainably. Realizing this, over the years, our Party and State have always paid great attention to national energy development, with the view that energy needs to be one step ahead to create an essential infrastructure foundation for socio-economic development.

To achieve double-digit growth in the 2026-2030 period, electricity demand will increase nearly 1.5 times, equivalent to an increase of 12% to 16% per year.

According to the Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission, this is a huge challenge. If there is no timely solution to develop power sources, especially green and clean power sources, the risk of power shortage in the period of 2026-2028 is very obvious.

Solving bottlenecks, creating confidence for investors

Although many mechanisms and policies have been issued, the Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission also pointed out that the implementation of projects, especially those related to renewable energy, still faces many difficulties. Policy barriers still cause investors to be apprehensive.

Analyzing this issue further, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Energy Association said that the process of promoting renewable energy development in Vietnam still faces many challenges related to investment approval, human resources, technology and market. Currently, the growth of renewable energy sources is slowing down.

The reason comes from the slow allocation of solar and wind power capacity by province nearly 1 year after the Decision approving the Power Plan VIII; renewable energy investors are still hesitant. Mr. Tuan gave a practical example: Currently, there are not enough regulations to deploy offshore wind power, no project in the scale of 6,000 MW has been deployed.

The General Secretary of the Vietnam Energy Association also pointed out that the challenge for renewable energy development is the need for investment capital for sources and transmission grids of more than 136 billion USD in 5.5 years, higher than the capital demand in 10 years of the Power Plan VIII. Assuming that the average scale of each onshore solar and wind power project is 50 MW, the number of solar and wind power projects expected to be built in the adjusted Power Plan VIII is very large, from 400 - 640 wind power projects; 600 - 1,100 solar power projects. This requires a lot of human resources for the work of selecting investors, reviewing, and managing project acceptance in localities.

Regarding nuclear energy, according to Mr. Tuan, the scale of developing flexible, stored energy sources is large, while there are no market regulations and electricity purchase/sale prices for these types. Although the Ninh Thuan 1 and 2 nuclear power projects have special mechanisms to speed up progress, more time is needed to complete the legal corridors. Vietnam has not yet mastered the technology, so the goal of completing the construction of nuclear power in more than 5 years is a big challenge.

Discussing solutions, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan proposed that management agencies need to quickly, decisively and reasonably resolve renewable energy projects that have problems with investment procedures during the FIT (supported electricity tariff) period and FIT delays, creating confidence for investors.

The leader of the Vietnam Energy Association also said that it is necessary to implement a mechanism to flexibly adjust electricity prices for input factors according to Decision No. 05/2024/QD-TTg; promote the establishment of wholesale and retail electricity markets.

In order to reduce the burden of negotiating electricity prices of Vietnam Electricity Group with each renewable energy project in the context of a large number of projects, the State can consider applying a flexible FIT mechanism applicable to different regions, with a shorter FIT period. For small-scale rooftop solar power, there should be additional incentive policies for selling surplus electricity.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/thao-go-cac-rao-can-de-nang-luong-tai-tao-tang-truong-manh-hon-162070.html