HCM CITY —  The central province of Ninh Thuận is seeking more investment for solar power, especially rooftop projects.

At a conference on solar energy held by the Ninh Thuận Province People’s Committee on Monday, delegates said that solar energy did not require a big investment or large areas of land or space.

The Government has issued policies to support clean solar energy.

With favourable conditions, many enterprises and households in Ninh Thuận Province have invested in rooftop solar power systems.

Nguyễn Hữu Tiên, deputy director of Ninh Thuận Power Company, said that rooftop solar power would help reduce electricity costs for both residents and businesses, and at the same time benefit the electricity sector.

However, legal procedures, payment mechanism, and tax payments have all caused problems for the solar power investment.

To develop the sector, the Ministry of Finance should issue a directive on payment methods for electric power, a value-added tax, and electricity buying and selling invoices signed between the Electricity of Việt Nam Corporation (EVN) and customers before solar systems are installed, he said.

Vũ Ngọc Niên, deputy director of the State Bank of Việt Nam’s Ninh Thuận Province branch, said the State Bank has not given priority to bank loans for investments to develop the rooftop solar power sector, and that SBV branches had not provided loans to rooftop solar power projects.

By the end of February, the Ninh Thuận Power Company had installed electricity metres for rooftop solar power systems for 29 customers, with total input of 302,75kWp, and total capacity of over 100,000kWh. — VNS