Stop accepting new solar plant proposals, trade ministry says

A new feed-in tariff for solar power has yet to be fixed, and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said at a recent meeting that his ministry is considering the tariff and a bidding policy for it.

The old incentive feed-in tariff of 9.35 US cents per kilowatt-hour ended on June 30.

This year 135 solar farms with a combined capacity of 8,935 MW were added to the national power plan, with plants producing almost 4,500 MW already going on stream, the ministry said.

Another 260 plants with 28,300 MW capacity are pending approval.

In the first six months, 89 new renewable power plants became active, resulting in an overload on the national grid. Some plants had to operate at about only 60 percent of their maximum capacity, which investors said could cause losses this year.

Renewables currently account for 9 percent of Vietnam's energy mix, already surpassing the target of 7 percent set for next year, according to national power utility Vietnam Electricity.