The Vietnamese government has issued a decree to cover direct power purchase agreements (DPPA) that allow enterprises to purchase renewable energy from private producers without an intermediary.

The agreement, signed on July 9, allows enterprises to sign renewable energy contracts exceeding a certain scale with private producers, not just the state-owned Vietnam Electricity (EVN). Until now, enterprises mainly procure renewable energy through small-scale solar panels on the roofs of their sites or by purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs).

With the implementation of the DPPA, Samsung Electronics Vietnam will be able to strengthen the institutional foundation for securing renewable energy.

Samsung Electronics has been tirelessly working with various stakeholders, including the Vietnamese government and civil society organisations, to introduce the DPPA system and put climate strategy into practice. Since the first DPPA discussions began in 2019, Samsung has emphasised the need to introduce a renewable energy procurement mechanism as soon as possible to achieve the country's net-zero carbon emissions goals, and provided technical advice on how to implement the mechanism.

Samsung has also continued to communicate with stakeholders through the Asia Clean Energy Coalition (ACEC), a coalition of renewable energy buyers, in collaboration with sellers and financiers, to strategically shift policy in key Asian markets, including Vietnam.

“Through the DPPA, we plan to get in touch with large-scale renewable energy producers proportionate to the size of operations at Samsung Electronics Vietnam and make competitive purchases of renewable energy,” said executive vice president Joo Ho Choi, general director of Samsung Vietnam Complex. “We will continue to work with the Vietnamese government to advance Vietnam’s renewable energy infrastructure.”