Encouraging organizations and individuals to develop rooftop solar power projects is a consistent policy

On the morning of April 10, 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting to listen to reports on the draft Decree stipulating mechanisms and policies to encourage the development of rooftop solar power projects.

Overview of the meeting. Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister stated clearly: That rooftop solar power projects are renewable energy sources that need to be prioritized and encouraged to develop, while mobilizing the resources of organizations and individuals, taking advantage of the existing transmission grid. Therefore, the Decree must overcome shortcomings and limitations in the development of rooftop solar power projects in recent times.

From there, identify the subjects, technical standards, and incentive mechanisms and policies for each subject, and operating methods (self-production, self-consumption, connection to the national power system, with electricity storage equipment...) and technological solutions to ensure the safety and stability of the base electrical system when bringing rooftop solar power projects to the power system.

According to Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, there are 3 main incentive policies for rooftop solar power projects as follows:

Firstly: to allow installation without following PDP VIII.

Secondly: The rooftop solar power projects are linked and transmit excess capacity to the national grid with prices in times.

Thirdly: To support interest rate for the electricity storage equipment.

The Representatives of the Northern Power Corporation and the Southern Power Corporation said: Currently, industrial park enterprises need to encourage procedures and policies on rooftop solar power projects. The recommended solutions for industrial zones and clusters are to simply verify and determine the safety of existing projects when installing additional rooftop solar power; Issue a set of sample documents for new rooftop solar power installation projects; Decentralize to localities and stipulate the time to resolve...

For more sustainable development, it is necessary to encourage businesses in industrial parks to install equipment to store unused rooftop solar power to convert it into clean background power, and then transmit it to the grid during evening peak hours, with a reasonable price.

At the meeting, representatives of the National Power System Dispatch Center reported on the capacity to ensure the safety and stability of the national power grid when increasing the capacity of renewable power projects.

The Leaders of ministries and agencies also discussed the reform solutions such as:

- To shorten administrative procedures on environment, construction, fire prevention and fighting... in licensing rooftop solar power installation.

- To support preferential interest rates.

- The criteria for determining background electricity, shaped from rooftop solar power storage.

- Authority to grant green credits to enterprises using rooftop solar power projects in production.

- Standards and technical regulations to control and ensure safety when generating or not generating sources of surplus electricity to the grid.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized the importance of rooftop solar power projects in contributing to ensuring energy security. This is an urgent task and an important solution to mobilize social resources to implement PDP VIII. Therefore, mechanisms and policies to encourage organizations and individuals to invest in rooftop solar power projects are consistent policies.

The rooftop solar power, offshore wind power, biomass power, waste power projects (including projects that export electricity without sending it to the national grid, green hydrogen production, self-production, self-consumption...) are allowed. Prioritize development in conditions that meet technology, system safety, and reasonable prices.

On the other hand, developing rooftop solar power projects is a solution for the economical and effective use of land planning for energy.

From a scientific, practical, and legal basis, the Decree needs to clearly define the content, objectives, and scope of subjects that are organizations and individuals installing rooftop solar power projects in the form of self-production and self-consumption, non-business and business, thereby providing incentive policies and mechanisms for safety, fire prevention and fighting respectively.

Specifically, for households, offices, office buildings... installing rooftop solar power projects for self-production and self-consumption (not for business), sample documents should be developed to maximize simplification procedures (except for projects with special requirements for safety, fire prevention and fighting).

For the enterprises that invest in rooftop solar power projects for use and at the same time install additional energy storage equipment, there needs to be a reasonable price, along with a plan for financial support, interest rates, and taxes.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Industry and Trade to coordinate with ministries and agencies to research technical conditions, financial policies, as well as mechanisms for maximum decentralization to localities in rooftop solar power project development.