Vietnam’s Solar Power Boom: Policy Implications for Other ASEAN Member States

Vietnam has recently seen a remarkable solar photovoltaic (PV) boom, the first stage of a major and rapid energy transition in the country. The country’s solar PV capacity increased from only 86 MW in 2018 to 4,750 MW in 2019 (Figure 1). With this, Vietnam passed Thailand to have the largest installed capacity for solar power generation among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Do et al., 2020). By the end of 2020, its installed solar PV capacity reached about 16,500MW, around one quarter of the country’s installed power capacity (Nhan Dan, 2021). This far surpasses its 2020 target of 850 MW (Government of Vietnam, 2016). Solar PV systems generated about 10.6 TWh of electricity in 2020, accounting for about 4% of all generation. Rooftop solar contributed about 48% of Vietnam’s total solar capacity by the end of 2020. ASEAN member states (AMS) have set an ambitious target of a 23% renewable energy share in the total primary energy supply by 2025 (ASEAN Centre for Energy, 2020). ASEAN countries have significant solar power potential to help achieve the target, but progress is mixed (Burke et al., 2019; Guild, 2019). The target may well be missed in some member countries. This paper discusses key drivers of Vietnam’s solar power boom and highlights a number of policy implications for other ASEAN countries.