Ministry explains cuts to capacity of renewable power plants

Hanoi (VNA) - Low power demand coupled with oversupply of
electricity at times have forced authorities to cut the capacity of renewable
energy plants in order to avoid overwhelming the national grid, according to
the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
A large amount of investments from social resources has been poured into developing
renewable energy, particularly solar energy, over previous years in Vietnam, according to the ministry.
However, a boom in high-capacity renewable energy projects, mainly in
central and southern Vietnam, has overloaded inter-regional transmission lines
and caused oversupply at times, the ministry said in Document No 1226/BCT-DTDL sent
to the National Assembly’s committees for Science, Technology and Environment, and Economic Affairs and the Office of the Government explaining its stance on the power capacity
cut.
Additionally, domestic demand for power has fallen below normal levels
due to the impact of COVID-19, which led to an oversupply of electricity during
off-peak times such as holidays, weekends, and at noon, the ministry said.
According to the ministry, this is a very dangerous situation that adversely affects the safe
operation of the national grid. Though the National Load Dispatch
Centre (A0) has reduced the output of traditional energy to the minimum, the
oversupply remains, so the centre had to make another cut to renewable energy
capacity to prevent the electricity system from collapsing.
The ministry has ordered Vietnam Electricity (EVN) and A0 to calculate the
required reduction of capacity at all renewable power plants in a transparent
and fair manner, regardless of who their investors are.
The ministry added that it has received government approval onthe supplement of various power transmission line projects into planning while urging EVN to fast-track the progress
of existing projects to raise the capacity of the national electricity network./.