HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City will invest nearly 650 billion VND (over 25.2 million USD) to install rooftop solar power systems with a total capacity of over 43MW at 438 public administrative agencies, according to Nguyen Thi Kim Ngoc, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.
Addressing a seminar on clean energy and solutions to reduce electricity costs for citizens and businesses in the city on April 10, Ngoc stated that the municipal People's Committee has recently approved the project, which will benefit administrative agencies, public service units, and offices of agencies and organisations classified as public assets.
Investors are expected to select design and installation contractors after receiving an in-principle approval for the project from the municipal People's Committee, Ngoc said.
The project aims to effectively harness the potential of rooftop solar energy in the city to increase the use of clean energy, contributing to reducing greenhouse gas and CO2 emissions, and heat radiation for buildings, towards realising the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, as committed by Vietnam at the COP26 Conference.
The proportion of renewable energy sources to the maximum capacity of the city's electricity system is expected to reach at least 15% during the 2025-2030 period, in line with the orientation of Vietnam's national energy development strategy to 2030, with a vision to 2045, Ngoc noted.
The city also strives to achieve the goal of having at least 50% of office buildings equipped with rooftop solar panels by 2030, towards ensuring a stable electricity supply in the city, she added.
According to the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, HCM City has the potential to develop this type of energy source up to approximately 5,081 MW by 2030. Of this, the capacity that can be installed at administrative and public service agencies is more than 166 MW.
Bui Trung Kien, Deputy General Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Power Corporation (EVNHCMC), cited statistics from before 2021, noting that the city’s electricity sector managed over 14,000 rooftop solar systems with a total capacity of about 350 MWp.
It is forecasted that solar power generation will increase significantly in the coming time as big enterprises and factories in the Southeast Industrial Park continue to install rooftop energy systems on their buildings, he said./.
VNA
