SolarBK attends Vietnam's biggest international solar power conference

SolarBK SolarBK is the only company in Vietnam that can complete the integrated vertical chain, an experts' advice on solar energy solutions

SolarBK is one of the few Vietnamese companies attending Solar Show Vietnam 2019 – the biggest international clean energy conference in Vietnam – that took place earlier this month at GEM Centre in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1.

The event attracted more than 3,000 energy industry experts from countries around the world and over 100 businesses (only 10 per cent of whom are local), with the newest products and solutions in the energy industry.

The event agenda featured diverse discussions with more than 40 presentations about the latest successes and innovations in the field of clean energy.

This year SolarBK – a leading R&D company offering products and solutions for renewable energy in Vietnam – attended Solar Show in a dual role: as an attendee exhibiting at booth 3E10 on the third floor and as a speaker presenting the theme “Rooftop solar after June 2019: Insights from insiders.”

The company has attended many international high-profile clean energy events, such as Intersolar (2014-2018), major energy trade show SPI (2017-2018), and championed esteemed awards at international events, such as the Global Clean Energy award in 2012 and 2016 and The Smarter E Award for outstanding projects in 2018, among others.

These achievements have contributed to boosting SolarBK's competitiveness in the international market.

At booth 3E10, SolarBK’s showcase was built around the theme “SolarBK ECOSystem – Solar for your business” to showcase the image of the first enterprise that possesses the integrated vertical chain.

SolarBK also introduced the integrated vertical chain to participants through virtual reality (VR) experience, a comprehensive investment calculation tool for solar power projects under the ESCO concept.

Mai Van Trung, general manager at SolarBK's Business Development, speaking at the event

In the presentation “Rooftop solar after June 2019: Insights from insiders,” Mai Van Trung, general manager of SolarBK’s Business Development department, provided a market forecast after June 30, 2019 and suggested solutions from SolarBK’s perspective as a pioneer in Vietnam’s solar power industry.

Trung was also a judge of “The Energy Innovation Arena Startup” which was part of the event.

According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s new draft on solar power development, the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) for solar power will be determined under a new system after June 30, 2019. Accordingly, based on four geographical radiation areas and four production types (grid-tied, ground solar energy, accumulative system project, and rooftop solar energy), the FiT will vary by a significant margin.

The price of rooftop solar power will be the highest and the new price scheme is expected to help attract projects to low radiation areas and reduce the concentration of projects in high radiation areas such as Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan.

Once applied, the price of rooftop solar power will be higher than in other countries in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand and Malaysia which share similar weather conditions and labour costs.

Besides, as the power price has already jumped by 8.36 per cent at the end of this March, Vietnam’s solar power development proves very appealing to domestic and international businesses.

Foreseeing Vietnam’s solar power growth and after many years of studying international experiences, SolarBK has chosen an in-depth development strategy through developing the integrated vertical chain ranging from production, technology, engineering design, and finance to construction, operation, and maintenance.

This will help the company optimise the cost of each element with ensured quality, offering customers the best rooftop solar power solutions in terms of investment efficiency.

SolarBK is the only company in Vietnam that can complete the integrated vertical chain in the solar power field, becoming a counterpoint to foreign partners having potential for solar project development in Vietnam.

Besides the direct investment format, SolarBK also applies joint investment forms via the ESCO concept, which will be implemented by SolarESCO, a member of SolarBK’s integrated vertical chain.

SolarESCO is a financial solution for businesses wishing to use solar power with flexible payment methods. As long as certain criteria are met, the enterprise will be invested wholly or partly depending on the agreement terms with its customers (including installation, operation, infrastructure, and risk management activities).

This concept applies to enterprises and public utility units with relatively large power consumption demands each year. Thanks to this concept, businesses can save on the initial investment cost and they can own the solar power system after the contract ends.

Vietnam has enormous potential for solar power development. Without good preparations and active support from financial institutions and enterprises, the country, however, may lose its competitive advantages to foreign companies who often have better experiences and financial sources in this field.