Vietnam to develop rooftop solar for on-site consumption as part of approved energy transition plan

The Vietnamese government has approved a plan to develop renewable energy generation, including building rooftop solar for residential and commercial sites.

The plan aims to ensure national energy security and provide sufficient electricity demand for Southeast Asian countries to achieve socio-economic development goals, with GDP expected to grow at an average annual rate of about 7% between 2021 and 2030.

According to the plan, by 2030, 50% of office buildings and residences will use self-produced rooftop solar energy for local consumption, but the generated electricity will not be sold to the national power system.

Other parts of the plan include the development of new power sources and grids. The government estimates that the program will require a total of $134.7 billion in funding.

Vietnam has accelerated its renewable energy transition in recent years, and as PV Tech reports, the G7 initiative Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) has agreed to support Vietnam’s green energy transition, mobilizing an initial $15.5 billion public and private over the next few years funds.

The mechanism could help the country deal with solar generation problems in recent years, partly due to grid capacity issues, after the boom of 2018-2020 came to an abrupt halt.

In addition, Vietnam is one of the beneficiaries of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet to accelerate clean energy transition and access. Priority projects include supporting battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Vietnam.