On the 27th & 28th of October, ASEAN Wind Energy 2022 (AWE2022) and Solar Pv Show Vietnam 2022 (SSV2022) were hosted by Leader Associates at the Adora Center.
Many issues related to the bankability of off-shore wind projects were raised and discussed by industry experts. Foreign investors are lobbying the Government of Vietnam for lucrative investment conditions. However, the expectations of certain investors seem to be out of touch with what is realistic and seems to be proposed with a limited understanding of the context of Renewable Energy PPAs in Vietnam.
It is essential to understand that little about Off-Shore wind was not said in similar circumstances about On-shore Wind and Utility-scale Solar starting in 2010/11. 25.000 MW of Solar and Wind installed in Vietnam, effectively since 2018, without making changes to the regulatory framework.
Indochina Energy Partners (IEP) pointed out that these changes have been suggested since 2011 by certain advocacy groups with the threat that there would be no Wind or Solar power without such adjustments. IEP then explained why such concessions had not been given in the last 12 years and were unlikely to be given now.
Vietnam already has about 120 billion USD of Solar/Wind PPAs. Therefore, if EVN changed the PPA as requested in the past 11-12 years, this would partially be state debt today. Moreover, since there is no power shortage in Vietnam, the Take or Pay model would idle other assets and add to the cost of EVN. Finally, it is unrealistic to expect a higher energy tariff to “build up supply chain” or ask for “capex assistance” from the government.