The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched a $36 million clean energy project in Vietnam. Under the Vietnam Low Emission Energy Program II (V-LEEP II), USAID and Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) will jointly increase clean energy deployment, through the mobilisation of private sector investment, providing project design support for developers as well as technical assistance for lenders.
By increasing private sector engagement, the new programme intends to commission about 2,000 MW of renewable energy projects between 2020 and 2025. Additionally, USAID and the Government of Vietnam will improve energy planning and operations practices to strengthen the country’s energy sector.
V-LEEP II will expand on the previously launched V-LEEP I program, which ran from 2015 to 2020. Under V-LEEP I, USAID and MOIT partnered on the development of its Eighth National Power Development Plan and the design of the Direct Power Purchase Agreement (DPPA) pilot programme. Through the DPPA, businesses are allowed to purchase electricity directly from private firms producing renewable energy, instead of purchasing it from local power utilities. The V-LEEP I program mobilised about $311 million to develop 300 MW of wind and solar projects.
