Vietnam renewable energy latest problem.
(Refe) – Over 100 renewable energy projects, representing more than $13 billion in investments, are at risk of insolvency due to EVN’s proposed temporary pricing.
The state-run Electricity Purchasing Company (EVN-EPTC), under the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), has rolled out temporary electricity prices that have over 100 wind and solar projects – worth more than $13 billion – on edge. Investors are crying foul, saying it could sink their businesses, and despite some tense talks from March 11-15, no one’s budging.
What’s EVN proposing?
EVN’s plan hinges on when projects got their Certificate of Completion Acceptance (CCA). If a project’s CCA came after the FIT1 rate (9.35 US cents/kWh) expired but before FIT2 (7.09 US cents/kWh) kicked in, it drops to FIT2. If it missed both deadlines, it’s stuck with a transitional rate of 1,184.9 VND/kW – about 4.7 US cents. EVN says this is just a stopgap, based on a government resolution from December 2024, until the bigwigs sort it out.
Nearly 80 investors showed up to hash it out with EVN, and they’re not happy. They argue these new rules mess with their Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)—the deals they signed to sell power at set rates. Here’s their beef: before mid-2023, no one told them a CCA was a must-have to lock in those juicy FIT prices. That requirement only popped up in June 2023, well after the FIT deadlines (like October 2021 for solar) had passed.
“If this CCA was so crucial, why didn’t EVN ask for it when we signed our contracts?” one investor fumed. They’re leaning on government docs that say FIT rates should stick unless they’ve screwed up – which they insist they haven’t.
With $13 billion poured into these projects, the stakes are sky-high. Investors warn that slashing rates now could mean defaulting on loans or watching their stock tank. Some are even threatening to take this to international courts, claiming EVN’s move breaks their PPAs and Vietnam’s investment promises.
This spat couldn’t come at a worse time – Vietnam’s pushing hard for green energy and big economic growth by 2030. If investors lose faith, that $13 billion could be just the start of what walks away.
What’s Next?
The investors want EVN to pay up if these temporary prices cause losses and then get reversed later. They’re also begging for a sit-down with the Ministry of Industry and Trade or even the government to find a fix that doesn’t leave them high and dry. A local lawyer, Trương Thanh Đức (1), put it bluntly: “You promise investors something, you stick to it. If the rules were murky, that’s on the state – not the companies busting their backs to get power online.”
Vietnam’s betting big on wind and solar to hit its climate goals, but this row could scare off the very people – foreign and local – who are supposed to make it happen. With ambitions to double renewable capacity in the next few years, sorting this out fast and fair might just decide if Vietnam stays a hot spot for green investment – or not.
Kim
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Reference (Vietnam Digest) ngày 27-3-2025:
https://reference.vn/vietnam-renewable-energy-latest-problem.html
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(1) Luật sư Trương Thanh Đức, Giám đốc Công ty Luật ANVI