The government of Vietnam has mostly focused its renewable
energy plans on wind energy and biomass production but recently,
solar energy is starting to take center stage, aptly so in a
country with high solar irradiation levels.1 According
to the Asian Development Bank, the total technical potential for
solar power generation in the country is around 13,000MW, but as of
2015, the total installed solar capacity for power generation is
only about 4MW, used mainly in research and rural
electrification.2
National targets
Starting 2015, there has been several key developments in the
solar energy sector. On 18 March 2016, the Prime Minister approved
the amendments to the National Master Plan for Power
Development in the 2011-2020 period with vision to 2030 under
Decision 428/QD-TTg. For the first time, detailed targets on solar
power were introduced in this legal document: capacity of 850 MW by
2020, 4,000 MW by 2025, and 12,000 MW by 2030; and share of solar
power in
