Over 5,600 MW of wind power to join national grid this year

The feed-in tariff (FIT) for offshore wind power currently stands at 9.8 cents per kilowatt-hour. The FIT for land plants is 8.5 cents. However, these are only applicable to plants that begin commercial operation before November 1, and for a period of 20 years.

From November 1, the price mechanism is set to change, with a spokesperson from the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority saying the agency is creating a bidding mechanism for solar and wind power to replace FIT.

FIT is a policy mechanism that offers cost-based compensation to renewable energy producers, providing price certainty and long-term contracts, which help attract finance.

There are 21 operational wind power plants with a combined capacity of 819 MW, according to national utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN).

The country aims to produce 10.7 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2030, mainly solar and wind power.

The Vietnam Energy Association wants the wind power generation capacity to be increased sevenfold from the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s current proposal of 2-3 GW in the country’s energy development plans for the next decade. This translates into a capacity of 15-20 GW.