In renewables, holding a policy approval has never been enough: the project must sit inside the power plan, have a grid-connection door, and live under a workable power-sale mechanism. After the adjusted Power Development Plan VIII (Decision 768/QD-TTg of 15 April 2025) and the Electricity Law 61/2024/QH15, the legal frame for wind and solar in Vietnam has turned a page — but the three-gate logic of plan — approval — connection and sale remains the spine of every project.
Gate one: the plan and its implementation plans
A power project can proceed only when the generation source and related transmission grid sit inside the national power development plan (currently the adjusted PDP8 under Decision 768/QD-TTg) and central or provincial plan-implementation plans. A project outside the plan — capacity absent from the lists, location mismatching the provincial allocation — cannot proceed however resourced the investor is; the only road is waiting for a plan or implementation-plan adjustment, a timing variable outside investor control. This bites hardest for self-consumption rooftop solar and offshore wind, segments where capacity allocation by region and province directly decides licensing feasibility.
For in-industrial-park generation serving on-site load, the picture differs somewhat: rooftop solar for self-use without grid sale follows the self-generation self-consumption regime under the Electricity Law 61/2024/QH15 and guiding documents — a much lighter planning barrier than for merchant power projects, and the reason factory-rooftop models at FDI plants have spread faster than solar farms.
Gates two and three: policy approval, connection and sale
Policy approval for power projects follows the Investment Law 143/2025/QH15 frame: a project on the Article 24 list (including energy projects in special groups such as nuclear power, offshore wind under its own regime, projects in relic protection zones, and large-land-scale projects) follows Article 25 devolution — the provincial People Committee Chair is the default deciding level for most onshore renewables, the Prime Minister for the listed groups, the National Assembly only for projects needing special mechanisms. A power project off the Article 24 list takes ordinary investment registration plus the conditional electricity business line.
The third gate is where many projects die: connection and power sale. A grid-selling project needs a connection agreement with the power utility, compliance with transmission and distribution system rules and technical conditions; pricing and the power purchase agreement (PPA) follow the price framework issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade for each period and source type (after the fixed FIT era, most new projects pass investor-selection bidding tied to power price, or a negotiated price frame). Beside selling to EVN, the direct power purchase mechanism (DPPA) under Decree 80/2024/ND-CP lets renewable plants sell straight to large electricity users — by private line or through the national grid — an option reshaping the financial structure of many large wind and solar projects.
Practice notes by project type
Offshore wind follows its own special regime on survey, sea-area allocation and investor selection — the onshore power-project frame does not apply. Rooftop solar at a factory: check the self-consumption capacity limits, the no-backfeed condition (or permitted sale mechanism), and the industrial-park infrastructure owner consent where the roof belongs to a leased building. Biomass and waste-to-energy projects stack an extra layer of environmental and feedstock law — investment approval does not solve a 25-year fuel-supply problem. And every power project must price curtailment risk from day one when the grid is congested — a risk living outside the approval document but deciding real cash flow.
A viable renewable project must lock all three gates: a place in the plan and its implementation plans, policy approval at the right level, and a clear connection and sale mechanism from PPA to DPPA. An investor counting only the second gate has walked just one third of the road. This draft is pending review by the QA Council.
Frequently asked questions
What approvals does a power or renewable project need?
Three layers: first, the project must sit in the adjusted Power Plan VIII (Decision 768/QD-TTg of 2025) and plan-implementation plans; second, investment policy approval if on the Article 24 list of Investment Law 143/2025/QH15 (Article 25 devolution — mostly the provincial Chair), or ordinary investment registration if off-list; third, a grid-connection agreement and a power-sale mechanism (PPA under the price frame, investor-selection bidding, or DPPA under Decree 80/2024/ND-CP), plus an electricity-activity licence at operation stage.
How are renewables approved within Power Plan VIII?
The adjusted PDP8 under Decision 768/QD-TTg of 15 April 2025 sets the generation mix and capacity allocation by source type, region and province; implementation plans concretise project lists by phase. Only projects named in the plan and implementation plans qualify to move on to policy approval and investor selection (bidding for many types). An unnamed project must wait for a plan or implementation-plan adjustment — there is no administrative shortcut.
Which level approves solar and wind projects?
Under Article 25 devolution of Investment Law 143/2025/QH15: the provincial People Committee Chair decides policy approval for most renewable projects on the Article 24 list not reserved to higher levels; the Prime Minister for the groups listed in Article 25 (including special and specially scaled projects); the National Assembly only where the project needs special mechanisms beyond the statutory frame. Offshore wind follows its own regime. Off-list projects need no policy approval and take investment registration.
How does DPPA apply to a renewable project?
Decree 80/2024/ND-CP on direct power purchase lets renewable plants (wind, solar and certain other types as regulated) sell power directly to large electricity users under two models: through a private line invested by the parties, or through the national grid with contract and settlement mechanics via the power market. DPPA frees projects from total dependence on an EVN PPA and helps FDI users hit green-energy targets — conditions, user thresholds and procedures follow Decree 80/2024 and Ministry of Industry and Trade guidance.
Does factory rooftop solar need policy approval?
Rooftop solar for self-generation and self-consumption at a factory generally is not an investment project needing policy approval like a merchant solar farm; it follows the self-generation self-consumption regime of the Electricity Law 61/2024/QH15 and guidance: notification or registration with the power authority and local government by capacity scale, assurance of no backfeed beyond the permitted part, and building-safety and fire compliance for the roof structure. Selling power beyond self-consumption changes the legal model and requires review under the corresponding sale regime.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council