The Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority of the Ministry of Industry and Trade launched a programme to boost the development of rooftop solar power in Vietnam at a workshop held in Ho Chi Minh City on July 25.

The Vietnam Low Emission Energy Program (V-LEEP), funded by the US Agency
for International Development (USAID), is designed to attract
investment from the private sector into clean energy.

Director of the authority Phuong Hoang Kim said the Vietnamese Government has been more aware of the role of solar energy and energy saving in maintaining economic growth, ensuring energy security, and protecting public health and environment.

Renewable energy is expected to generate 6.5 percent of the country’s total electricity in 2020 and 10.7 percent in 2030, he said, adding that Vietnam aims to save 10 percent of energy in the total power consumption in 2020.

The Vietnam Low Emission Energy Program (V-LEEP), funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is designed to attract investment from the private sector into clean energy.

According to Michael Greene, Director of the USAID, through this programme, the US agency will support the Vietnamese Government to harmonise national strategies, laws, policies and regulations to encourage the development of clean energy.

Earlier, the Ministry of Industry and Trade had approved a programme to develop rooftop solar power in Vietnam between 2019 and 2025. 

The industrial sector uses about 50 percent of the country’s total energy resources; hence, increasing energy saving and efficient use in the sector is a top priority to ensure national energy security.

Vietnam is also seeking to generate electricity from wind and biomass energy.