p>Vietnam's Prime Minister has finally issued a decision on new FITs for solar power projects. The Decision formalizes amounts many had been expecting based on previously circulated draft information but comes nearly a year after the previous FIT rate expired (June 2019) and will leave many wondering why the decision couldn't have been made much sooner.

Decision 13/2020/QD-TTg dated 6 April 2020 confirms that the new FITs will only be available – for now at least – for projects that COD prior to 31 December 2020. This is a ridiculously short time line considering the long lead in time for delivery of inverters and, for many projects, completing land acquisition procedures.

The new FITs are:

  • For floating solar energy projects: 7.69 US cents/ kWh
  • For ground mounted solar energy projects: 7.09 US cents/ kWh
  • For rooftop energy solar energy projects: 8.38 US cents/ kWh

While providing welcome certainty, the long delay has seriously stressed many approved and licensed solar projects. Investors and developers had been left in the dark about what revenue they would receive while simultaneously under pressure to meet construction deadlines stated in investment approvals and PPAs.

On the positive side, the Decision confirms that projects that are eligible for the new FITs are those that obtained Decisions on investment policy prior to 23 November 2019. This throws a wider net than previously-floated criteria that projects would have to have already started construction by that date. Practically speaking however, given the tight COD deadline, it will not dramatically affect the number of projects that have a realistic shot at securing the new FIT. Project owners need to make a very calculated decision now about how hard and fast to push ahead for COD by end of the year. Among myriad factors that could threaten such a target – including COVID-19 supply chain issues – must be EVN's capacity to integrate and connect a potential flood of projects before the deadline.

The alternative, according to the new Decision, is that project owners will need to participate in competitive auctions. Though, also coming into view now, is a new corporate direct power purchase pilot program that will be an attractive option for many developers, albeit initially limited in scope. Read some more about that scheme here.

Notably, the new Decision does not suggest that any improvements will be made to the template solar power PPA, a form widely considered unbankable for international banks. Surely however the days must be numbered for this form if the Government wants to see sound future development of solar power, not to mention lower prices, in future.

With respect to rooftop solar projects, the Decision does not – as many had hoped – increase the existing 1 MW limit (which is not a true limit per se but rather a threshold for dramatically simpler licensing). Many had advocated to increase this to 3MW but not to be.

The Decision does however expressly recognize the concept of private rooftop power sales, something previously not clearly regulated. On that point, the Decision provinces that if EVN is not the power buyer, the parties can agree on their own PPA terms, provided they are consistent with existing regulations. This will be welcome news for rooftop developers who have been currently operating in something of a grey area, often using unconventional contractual arrangements. Further detailed regulation may come from the MOIT to further elaborate this.

Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.