Energy and Renewable Energy
Energy projects in Vietnam rarely stop at one dossier. A solar, wind, biomass, or waste-to-energy project — or a self-generation self-consumption rooftop system — must pass through many layers: investment policy and planning, land, construction, grid connection, power purchase agreements, financing, and lender commitments. Risk usually appears where these layers are handled in isolation, without a unified sequence.
Quick summary: renewable energy
| Suited for | Project developers, manufacturers wanting rooftop solar, power buyers, and project acquirers. |
|---|---|
| Key documents | Investment policy, planning files, land files, grid-connection agreements, and power purchase agreements. |
| Checkpoints | Planning status, schedule, grid-connection conditions, price mechanism, foreign ownership ratio, and lender conditions. |
Renewable energy: who is it for?
- Domestic and foreign investors developing new power sources.
- Manufacturers, industrial parks, and warehouses wanting rooftop solar for self-use or lower electricity costs.
- Large power buyers interested in direct power purchase arrangements with renewable generators.
- Investors acquiring part or all of an existing project, needing legal due diligence before committing funds.
- Credit institutions and investment funds needing project legal file assessment before financing.
How FLAT LAW FIRM Helps
- Initial legal feasibility assessment: planning, site, land, grid-connection prospects, and suitable investment form.
- Support for investment policy approval, investment registration, and post-licensing procedures.
- Reviewing and negotiating power purchase agreements, grid-connection agreements, rooftop leases, EPC contracts, and O&M contracts.
- Legal due diligence for share/stake or project transfers.
- Advising on project financing structures, loan security, and lender commitments.
- Resolving implementation obstacles: delays, project adjustments, disputes with contractors or power buyers.
Common risks
- Acquiring a project whose planning file, investment policy approval, or schedule already has unresolved issues.
- Grid-connection agreement unconfirmed while the EPC contract is signed and equipment ordered.
- Installing rooftop solar on works not yet commissioned or lacking structural and fire-safety conditions.
- Rooftop leases not separating system ownership, termination liabilities, and handling when the factory lessee changes.
- Foreign ownership structure unchecked in advance, forcing mid-course restructuring.
- Price and payment mechanisms in the power purchase agreement incompatible with lender requirements.
Documents to prepare
- Investment policy approval documents, investment registration certificates, and the investor’s legal file.
- Land files, land or rooftop leases, construction permits, and as-built records.
- Grid-connection agreements, technical files, and correspondence with the power utility.
- Power purchase agreements, EPC contracts, O&M contracts, and signed appendices.
- Actual project progress and state-agency documents on schedule, penalties, or adjustment requirements.
How we assess an energy project
We typically assess in four layers, in strict order, because an issue in an upper layer devalues work done in lower ones. The first layer is the development right: whether the project sits in the power development plan or its implementation plan, whether the investment policy approval remains valid, whether schedule adjustments were lawfully made.
The second layer is site use rights: whether land, factory rooftops, or water surfaces have a stable legal basis, and whether the remaining term exceeds the power purchase agreement and loan terms. The third layer is the right to sell power: grid-connection prospects, accepted capacity, applicable price mechanism, and conditions precedent in the contract.
The fourth layer is bankability and transferability: whether lenders and successor investors will accept this file. Many projects are operationally eligible yet hard to sell or finance, because a small defect in the first or second layer was never fully resolved.
Reference legal framework
Electricity activities in Vietnam are currently governed by Electricity Law No. 61/2024/QH15, effective 01/02/2025, with its system of guiding decrees and circulars. Energy projects are also governed by investment, land, construction, environmental protection laws and sector-specific rules for each power source type.
The direct power purchase mechanism between renewable generators and large power consumers, as well as the self-generation self-consumption solar mechanism, are set out in separate decrees amended and replaced multiple times since 2024. The national power development plan and its implementation plan have also been adjusted. Conditions, price mechanisms, and procedures must therefore be checked against the instruments in force when each project is implemented, not against earlier-phase information.
The full text of the 2024 Electricity Law and guiding decrees can be found at the Government’s legal normative documents system; planning and power development mechanism information is published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a business installing rooftop solar on its own factory need permits?
It depends on scale, usage purpose, and whether surplus power is sold to the grid. Even where procedures are simple, structural, fire-safety, and as-built conditions must still be checked.
May foreign investors own 100% of a renewable energy project?
In many cases yes, but market access conditions under investment law and sector-specific conditions for each project type and location must be checked.
Is acquiring a licensed project safer than developing one?
Not necessarily. A licensed project shortens timelines but carries its full legal history, including defects in schedule, land, or unfulfilled financial obligations.
How negotiable is a power purchase agreement?
It depends on the project type and the buyer. For template contracts, negotiable parts usually lie in technical appendices, conditions precedent, and non-performance handling mechanisms.
What do lenders typically require on the legal file?
Typically the completeness and stability of site use rights, project development rights, the right to sell power, and the ability to mortgage and transfer upon events of default.
Useful Links
Talk to FLAT LAW FIRM
You may send the project’s existing legal file, the current implementation phase, and objectives, so our team can assess the next step, or call the hotline (+84) 988 424 851.