Promoting rooftop solar power in industrial parks:

In the context of rapidly increasing demand for electricity, escalating electricity prices and stricter requirements for carbon emission reduction, developing rooftop solar power in industrial parks and export processing zones is considered an important direction to help businesses improve their competitiveness, while supporting the capital Hanoi in achieving its green growth goals.

With available infrastructure, suitable loads and great potential for installation space, this model is opening up many development opportunities.

Staff of Hanoi Electricity Corporation support customers to install rooftop solar power system.

Identify barriers

Over the past years, the transition to green and clean energy has been identified by the Party and the State as an important strategy. In Hanoi, the growth rate of electricity demand has always been among the highest in the country, especially in the industrial sector.

Dr. Le Xuan Rao, Chairman of the Hanoi Union of Science and Technology Associations, said that rooftop solar power is the “right time, right place, right demand” source of electricity. Producing electricity on the spot not only helps businesses reduce costs and reduce the amount of electricity they have to buy from the grid during peak hours, but also contributes to reducing the load on the city’s power system.

In addition to cost benefits, rooftop solar power also improves the working environment in factories when the solar panels become a “second roof”, helping to reduce temperatures by 3-5 degrees Celsius. This is a favorable condition for businesses to improve labor productivity and reduce electricity used for cooling.

Despite the many benefits, the development speed of rooftop solar power in Hanoi is still modest. Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Dinh Thong (Director of the New Energy Center) said that by 2024, the entire city will have installed only 102.9 MWp, accounting for only 3.2% of the total capacity of the country and 7.3% of the capacity of the Northern region. The reason for the low capacity is partly because Hanoi is located in the Northeast region, where solar radiation is the lowest in the country, making the efficiency of solar power exploitation not as high as in the Central and Southern provinces. However, the demand for clean electricity in industrial parks will increase.

The biggest current difficulty comes from the legal framework and enforcement mechanism. Deputy Head of the Energy Management Department (Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade) Nguyen Khai Van said that Hanoi's rooftop solar power capacity is still very low compared to the target of 894MW allocated according to the National Power Development Plan for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050. The reason is that according to current regulations, "self-production, self-consumption" projects are almost unable to sell surplus electricity to the grid; while projects that want to buy and sell electricity directly are stuck with the condition that large electricity users must reach an average consumption of 200,000kWh per month, which many businesses in industrial parks cannot meet.

In addition, Deputy Head of the Management Board of Hanoi High-Tech Parks and Industrial - Export Processing Zones Tran Anh Tuan said that businesses still face difficulties in construction procedures, fire prevention and fighting and connection conditions, while many models of investment cooperation or factory roof leasing have not been recognized by current policies.

Increased support role from regulatory agencies

To promote rooftop solar power in industrial parks, the first requirement is to complete the legal corridor in a clear, transparent and practical direction.

According to Mr. Nguyen Khai Van, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is studying a proposal to reduce the minimum output of large electricity customers from 200,000kWh to 100,000kWh per month, in order to expand the subjects eligible to participate in the direct electricity purchase and sale mechanism. Along with that, the draft Resolution on removing difficulties in energy development in the 2026-2030 period also proposes to give more authority to the provincial People's Committee in adjusting the power grid development plan, helping to shorten the time for processing procedures.

From a professional perspective, many scientists emphasize the role of modern technology and management. According to Associate Professor Dr. To Duy Phuong, Chairman of the Hanoi Foundry and Metallurgy Association, rooftop solar power can supply about 16% of the total electricity demand of industrial parks if deployed on the right scale and technique. With the trend of increasing electricity prices every year, the economic efficiency of the project will be more obvious. To improve operational efficiency, businesses need to apply smart monitoring systems, increase automation and combine with energy storage solutions.

Associate Professor Dr. Tran Van Top, former Vice President of Hanoi University of Science and Technology, said that Vietnam can absolutely aim for 15,000 MWp of rooftop solar power in industrial zones by 2030, if there is a specialized decree to create a stable and long-term legal corridor. He suggested piloting a model of "zero emission" industrial zones, integrating energy management and electricity storage systems, and supporting businesses to access International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-RECs) to increase export value.

Overall, rooftop solar power in industrial zones is meeting all the conditions to become a new driving force in Hanoi’s energy transition. When the legal corridor is completed, procedures are simplified and technological solutions are applied synchronously, the potential of rooftop solar power in industrial zones will be unlocked.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/thuc-day-dien-mat-troi-mai-nha-trong-khu-cong-nghiep-mo-huong-chuyen-dich-nang-luong-cua-thu-do-725362.html