23 wind and solar power investors request dialogue due to delayed payments

(Dan Tri) - 23 foreign investors in the field of wind and solar power have requested to have a dialogue with leaders of ministries and branches because many projects have not received or are slow to receive payments, leading to the risk of bankruptcy.

A group of foreign direct investors in the renewable energy sector in Vietnam has just sent a document to the Minister of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Justice regarding the issue of payment for 173 renewable power projects under the fixed price mechanism (FIT price).

According to the investor group, Circular 10/2023, effective from June 2023, stipulates that renewable energy projects must have a Construction Completion Acceptance Certificate (CCA) before being recognized for commercial operation (COD).

However, they said that this regulation did not exist at the time when many foreign-invested projects achieved COD, at which time they only needed to be confirmed by the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) to complete and operate under the FIT price mechanism. Therefore, 173 projects were determined by the authorities to not have CCA at the time of COD, causing instability and great legal risks for investors.

The investor group said that many of these projects have not been paid by EVN or have only received partial payment for electricity since the January payment period, and in some cases, payment has been stopped since August 2022.

According to the document, financial difficulties are seriously affecting all affected projects and the investors themselves. The lack of cash flow puts them under great pressure in operations, as well as in repaying debts to banks and financial institutions. Many wind and solar power plants have exhausted all coping measures and are on the brink of bankruptcy.

Solar and wind power systems in Khanh Hoa (Photo: Nam Anh).

Investors also expressed concerns that EVN's withholding of payments based on changes in the definition of COD date and criteria for enjoying FIT prices is inconsistent with the principles of law, fairness and goodwill of cooperation.

“The current approach is negatively impacting existing investments and could reduce international investors’ confidence in Vietnam’s energy transition,” the investor group warned.

Therefore, this group of investors proposed to organize a bilateral dialogue with Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh and Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang in the first half of November on the above issue.

According to statistics, 23 foreign investors who signed the petition own or contribute capital to renewable energy projects with a total capacity of more than 4,182 MW in Vietnam. This group includes many large energy corporations from Japan, Thailand, Korea, Singapore, UK, China, Malaysia, Philippines...

Among them, large-scale investors include ACEN Vietnam Investment (Philippines) with 14 projects with a total capacity of 852MW, Super Energy Corporation (Thailand) with 8 projects with a total capacity of 686.7MW, Shikoku Electric Power (Japan) 256MW, B.Grimm Renewable (Thailand) 496MW...

In early August, EVN proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade divide wind and solar power projects facing difficulties into two groups for handling: Group 1 includes three projects that have been sentenced and will be implemented according to the court's decision; Group 2 includes the remaining 169 projects, when there is a verdict, they will be handled similarly.

The group also proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade coordinate with localities to review and handle projects with acceptance test results (CCA) documents issued after the commercial operation date (COD) and guide 13 projects without CCA to complete their documents according to Resolution 233.

Regarding electricity prices, EVN proposed to allow projects with CCA to enjoy FIT prices from the COD time, while projects without CCA will temporarily apply the transitional ceiling price from the August payment period, then enjoy FIT prices when CCA is granted.

At the meeting on September 4 between the group of renewable energy investors and the Electricity Trading Company (EPTC), the investors agreed that they would not complain, not sue and not request late payment interest, on the condition that EVN/EPTC fully paid the debts under the power purchase agreement (PPA) signed before October 31.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/23-nha-dau-tu-dien-gio-mat-troi-de-nghi-doi-thoai-do-bi-cham-thanh-toan-20251105162208814.htm