top of page
Writer's pictureBy The Financial District

Vietnam Lets Big Companies Buy Clean Energy Directly

Vietnam will let electricity-guzzling factories buy electricity from wind and solar power producers, helping big companies like Samsung Electronics meet their climate targets and relieving pressure on the country’s overstrained grid, Aniruddha Ghosal reported for the Associated Press (AP).


The government decree allowing Direct Power Purchase Agreements (DPPAs) was approved earlier this month. I Photo: Điện lực Việt Nam Facebook



The government decree allowing Direct Power Purchase Agreements (DPPAs) was approved earlier this month.


It lifts a regulation requiring all consumers of power to rely only on the state-run utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) and its subsidiaries, which distribute electricity at rates fixed by the government.



Foreign investors that are vital to Vietnam’s ascent as a major exporter had been clamoring for such a change.


“The DPPA will dramatically alter this status quo,” said Giles Cooper, a partner at the international law firm Allens based in Hanoi who specializes in energy policy.


Without such a change, it was “difficult, if not impossible” for companies to meet their commitments to phase out reliance on fossil fuels.



With more and more countries taxing carbon pollution, companies that can show that their factories use clean energy can enjoy a “considerable competitive advantage” in some markets, said Cooper, who contributed to the drafting of the law.




Comments


bottom of page