HANOI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam will run 88 solar power plants with a total capacity of 4,000 megawatts (MW) by the end of next month, according to the Vietnam Power Group (EVN), the country's biggest electricity producer and sole distributor.
As of May 17, a total of 27 solar power plants had started commercial operation, compared to only four plants one month ago, and 61 projects slated for completion in the next few weeks will have combined capacity of 2,000 MW, daily newspaper Vietnam News quoted the EVN as saying.
The Vietnamese government is striving to increase the total output of electricity produced from renewable sources from approximately 58 billion kWh in 2015 to 101 billion kWh by 2020, and 186 billion kWh by 2030.
Renewable energy projects are located mainly in the southern and south-central regions, helping reduce the pressure of supplying electricity to the southern region, the country's economic hub.
According to EVN, hydropower and coal-fired power are leading among electricity generation sources. To meet the growing demand for electricity, Vietnam needs to increase its total capacity from 47,900 MW by the end of September 2018 to 60,000 MW by 2020, to 96,500 MW by 2025, and to 129,500 MW by 2030.
