- USAID announces a $36 million clean energy investment scheme for Vietnam.
- USAID will engage with Vietnam’s MOIT to promote clean energy.
- John Yeap of Pinsent Masons, a renewables expert, says with DPPA, Vietnam will be ahead of its neighbour.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced a US$36 million clean energy investment scheme to enhance private sector investment and improve operational performance in Vietnam’s energy industry.
The Vietnam Low Emission Energy Program II is the initiative’s name (V-LEEP2). By mobilizing private sector investment and providing project design help for developers and technical assistance for lenders, USAID will engage with Vietnam’s Ministry of industry and trade (MOIT) to promote clean energy deployment.
The program is a continuation of V-LEEP I, which operated from 2015 to 2020. Under V-LEEP I, USAID collaborated with the Ministry of Industry and Trade on Vietnam’s Power Development Master Plan VIII (PDMPVIII) and designed the Direct Power Purchase Agreement (DPPA) pilot program, which will allow businesses in Vietnam to buy electricity directly from private renewable energy producers. In addition, working with the private sector, V-LEEP, I secured $311 million in funding for wind and solar projects totalling 300 megawatts.
“With the progress of the DPPA program, Vietnam is moving ahead of some of its neighbours in enabling commercial power customers with corporate emissions reduction targets to accomplish their net-zero ambitions,” said John Yeap of Pinsent Masons, a renewables expert.
“Nevertheless, the move towards direct bilateral negotiations for offtake arrangements in single buyer markets seems likely to continue as these markets continue to explore ways to enable off-takers direct access to electricity from renewable energy sources,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ministry released a draft policy on the DPPA scheme, including launching a competitive wholesale electricity market with a 1GW capacity. In addition, power plants that have not yet operations but are included in the power development plans may join the pilot programme. These projects will require identified investors, approved by state agencies.
During the pilot operation phase, selected power producers will directly negotiate and sign bilateral contracts with power consumers, including contractual output, contract price, and reference price.