Solar power production triples

By Dat Nguyen September 10, 2020 | 04:15 am PT

Solar panels and wind turbines seen in a renewable energy complex in the central province of Binh Thuan. Photo by VnExpress/Tran Trung.

Vietnam’s Jan-Aug solar power production surged 2.94 times year-on-year to 6.39 billion kWh, with an increase in the number of plants.

Renewable energy production, comprising solar, wind and biomass, was 7.27 billion kWh, accounting for 4.4 percent of total in the first eight months, according to a report by national utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN).

EVN has been building and upgrading 21 transmission lines since last year to reduce national grid overload caused by the upsurge in number of solar power plants, mostly in the central provinces of Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan.

At present, there are 102 solar power plants operating in the country with a total capacity of 6,300 MWp.

Nearly 50,000 rooftop solar systems were operating by the end of August with a total capacity of nearly 1,200 MWp, half of them installed in the first eight months.

Also in this period, coal-fired power production accounted for 54.2 percent of total, followed by hydropower at 23.8 percent and gas at 15.2 percent.

Total power production rose 2 percent year-on-year to 164.05 billion kWh.