Vietnam

The global expansion of PV, wind power and other clean energies will see double-digit growth this year as solar continues to lead the pack.

With the benefits solar panels can bring to cropland being considered in Europe, PV and aquaculture are working in tandem in Vietnam. Shrimp and fish farming requires land and lots of water but solar panels are helping mitigate those demands.

The contract figure is based on today’s mono prices and equates to almost 20% of the revenues seen in 2018. The supply deal is the second big order the company has secured in 12 months.

Vietnam had already successfully commissioned 1.5 GW of utility-scale PV at the end of May this year, and there is no sign of this slowing down, with another 2 GW teed up for June 2019. The breakneck speed in development is making Vietnam a powerhouse in the region in installed capacity, even nipping at the heels of Australia. Rystad Energy’s Minh Koi Le looks at the state of play in the Vietnamese solar market.

An investor tool examining the coal fleets of major global power companies has offered up analysis which flies in the face of arguments solar and wind generation could help turn around the debt-saddled South African utility.

The head of Mercom Capital says solar has a long way to go before it can stand without policy support. Effective grid parity will only be achieved when the cost of PV electricity factors in the expense of grid upgrades and the storage systems its intermittent nature requires, says Raj Prabhu.

At the end of Vietnam’s solar gold rush, the Chinese power electronics maker can look back on a positive result. With the last glut of project announcements issued, Sunseap said it had finished a 168 MW installation featuring Longi’s Hi-Mo 1 modules.

With a glut of solar capacity having come online this year, cheaper financing would help keep some of that momentum but policymakers cannot be persuaded of the economic benefits of clean energy unless state-owned utility EVN opens up.

First-quarter figures from German engineering association the VDMA showed that, while orders picked up after a slow end to last year, almost all PV production equipment produced in the country is shipped abroad, with China the leading destination.

Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy has placed the Australian and Vietnamese solar markets side by side and found the Southeast Asian country left its rival trailing in terms of commissioned utility scale PV capacity. A staggering 4.46 GW of connected PV capacity in Vietnam at the end of June came as a surprise to many.