Extend incentive price deadline for wind power projects: industry insiders

Eighty-four projects were eligible for the incentive FIT of 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour as they became operational before Nov. 1, while 62 projects with a total capacity of 3,500 megawatts missed the deadline, according to national utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN).

Bui Van Thinh, CEO of wind power developer Thuan Binh Wind and chairman of Binh Thuan Wind Power Association, told a forum Wednesday that the deadline for the incentive pricing should be extended as developers have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

But prudent calculations are needed to balance the benefits between developers, as some have had to pay extra in October to complete their project before the deadline, he said.

It would be unfair for investors who had finished in time if the incentive price remains at 8.5 U.S. cents for late investors, he added.

The price should drop by one percent a month for late investors, which means by 2023, it would have fallen by 24 percent, Thinh said.

The CEO of renewable energy developer UPC Renewables Vietnam, Logan Knox, agreed with the one percent drop a month.

Sebastian Paust, first counsellor and head of development cooperation at the German Embassy in Vietnam, proposed that the Vietnamese government find a solution to prevent some unfinished projects from not entering operation.

Otherwise the government would be sending a negative signal to wind power developers.

Other experts highlighted Vietnam’s large potential for wind power development.

"Wind power is one of Vietnam’s key energy pillars in the future. The country has a potential to develop 230 gigawatts of wind power, both onshore and offshore."

To keep the commitments made by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, experts said Vietnam needs to change its transmission policy.