VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam’s renewable energy production costs remain higher than other countries as the country still does not have a competitive solar energy market. 

Many people in the country have saved money by using solar energy. 

A solar energy system with capacity of 1 KW was installed on the terrace of Redsun’s building in district 5, HCMC in 2010. Since then, the system has been operating well, allowing activities at the buildings to run properly even when the electricity from the national grid is cut. The company doesn’t have to run electricity generators which produce noise and dust.

Hiep, of district 6, HCMC installed a 1 KW solar power system on the roof, worth VND80 million. The electricity provided by the system, about 4-5 KW, is used to light four 40W fluorescent lamps, run four electric fans and one TV. 

Vietnam’s renewable energy production costs remain higher than other countries as the country still does not have a competitive solar energy market.

With the 2 KW solar power system, VH in Ham Tan district of Binh Thuan province can save two-thirds of expenses on electricity. 

The outstanding feature of the system is that it allows him to automatically use the electricity from the national grid when the system cannot provide enough electricity. 

If the system provides more than enough electricity, the redundant capacity will be automatically transferred to the national grid.

However, the problem is that he has to pay for electricity from the national grid he uses, but does not receive money from Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) if his system provides electricity to the national grid.

H said if EVN applies a flexible exchange, he would be willing to install a system with double or triple the capacity. And if other people also install such systems, this will help settle the electricity shortage and ease pollution.

Businesses and households which want to install private solar electricity systems still have to wait for the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s guidance on electricity pricing. Therefore, they now can only use solar power under the ‘self-sufficient’ mode by installing solar panels on the roofs.

Scientists say that Vietnam has great potential in developing solar energy. According to the Energy Institute, there are about 2,500 sunny hours a year, while the average annual radiation volume is 230-250 kcal/cm2.

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Science & Technology, the Sun ‘sends’ 3-4.5 kwh/m2 of electricity to Vietnam every hour in winter and 4.5-6.5 kwh/m2 in summer.

Experts estimated that in HCMC, solar panels can be installed on at least 300,000 roofs. If two panels are installed on each roof, with the capacity of 260W (enough for lighting, TV and fans), the city will have 78 MW in solar power capacity, which is equal to the Can Don Hydropower Plant in Binh Phuoc Province which can generate 105 million KWh a year. 

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