Grid could stop buying rooftop solar from private sellers

A recent bill drafted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade covers rooftop solar systems installed in homes and offices.

At the end of 2022 installed rooftop solar capacity had reached 16,500 megawatts, or 19 times what had been approved under National Power Development Plan 7.

This meant solar accounted for 23.8% of total power supply.

The Government Inspectorate said at the time that some businesses had installed rooftop solar systems on agricultural and forest lands in violation of the law to get the incentive price of 8.38 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour the government offered.

Power Development Plan 8 to regulate electricity supply until 2030 caps rooftop solar power supplied to the national grid at 2,600 MW.

Solar rooftop investors have expressed concerns that they cannot recoup their money if the bill is approved into law.