Circular No. 32/2012/TT-BCT on the implementation of wind power project development and model power purchase contracts for wind power projects

Circular No. 32/2012/TT-BCT stipulates the implementation of wind power project development and model power purchase contracts for wind power projects in Vietnam, applicable to investors, production enterprises, operation management units, electricity buyers, and related organizations and individuals. This circular specifies procedures for proposal submission, approval, construction, operation of wind power projects, support for off-grid project development, and the use of model power purchase contracts.

Document No.32/2012/TT-BCT
Document typeCircular
Issuing authorityMinistry of Industry and Trade
Signed byLê Dương Quang — Thứ trưởng
Updated25/06/2026
SectorIndustry and Trade
FieldUncategorized
Issued date12/11/2012
Effective date27/12/2012
Expiry date28/02/2019
StatusExpired
✦ Smart summary

Circular No. 32/2012/TT-BCT stipulates the implementation of wind power project development and model power purchase contracts for wind power projects in Vietnam, applicable to investors, production enterprises, operation management units, electricity buyers, and related organizations and individuals. This circular specifies procedures for proposal submission, approval, construction, operation of wind power projects, support for off-grid project development, and the use of model power purchase contracts.

Scope of application

Investors of wind power projects; organizations developing wind power projects for electricity trading; management and operation units of wind power facilities; electricity buyers; other related organizations and individuals.

Key points

  • Investors may only establish wind power projects included in the approved project list; the equity ratio must not be less than 20% of the total investment cost (Article 6).
  • Wind power projects can only commence construction when they have obtained an Investment Certificate, Power Purchase Contract, and Interconnection Agreement (Article 7).
  • Investors must comply with regulations regarding wind measurement, reporting wind measurement results, and submitting project investment files to the General Department of Energy and the Provincial Department of Industry and Trade (Articles 5 and 9).
  • Annual electricity price support is registered according to the provisions of Article 15; the wind power purchase price is adjusted annually (Article 16).
  • Investors of off-grid wind power projects must prepare a support request file and submit it to the General Department of Energy for review and approval (Article 17).

🌐 Social impact of this document

  • Positive impact: Support for the development of renewable energy, reducing dependence on fossil fuels; increased use of clean energy.
  • Negative impact: High initial investment costs for wind power projects; close coordination between regulatory agencies and investors is required to ensure effective implementation.

❓ Frequently asked questions

What regulations must investors comply with when proposing new wind power projects?

Investors must prepare a project proposal file in accordance with laws on investment and construction of works and submit it to the People's Committee of the province. Based on this proposal, the provincial People's Committee will prepare a supplementary planning proposal for wind power development and report it to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Article 4).

How is price support provided to investors of off-grid wind power projects?

Investors must prepare a support request file and submit it to the General Department of Energy. The file includes contents such as pricing plans, research result reports, wind potential assessments, and business operation plans (Article 17).

When can wind power projects commence construction?

Wind power projects can only commence construction when they have obtained an Investment Certificate, Power Purchase Contract, and Interconnection Agreement (Article 7).

What regulations must investors comply with regarding wind measurement?

Investors must conduct wind measurements at representative locations within the project area for a minimum continuous period of 12 months. The wind measurement report must include details on methodology, duration, and methods of implementation, equipment descriptions, data sets of measurement results, and analysis of results (Article 5).

What regulations must investors comply with regarding land use area?

The land use area for wind power projects includes survey and investment study areas, limited-term land use areas, and temporary land use areas. The limited-term land use rate for wind power projects must not exceed 0.5 hectares per MW (Article 12).

Full text

 

CIRCULAR
Regulations on the implementation of wind power project development and model Power Purchase Agreements for wind power projects
___________________________________

 

Pursuant to Decree No. 189/2007/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2007 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Decree No. 44/2011/NĐ-CP dated June 14, 2011 of the Government amending and supplementing Article 3 of Decree No. 189/2007/NĐ-CP;
Pursuant to the Electricity Law No. 28/2004/QH11 dated December 3, 2004;
Pursuant to Decision No. 37/2011/QĐ-TTg dated June 29, 2011 of the Prime Minister on mechanisms to support the development of wind power projects in Vietnam;
The Minister of Industry and Trade issues this Circular on the implementation of wind power development and the issuance of model Power Purchase Agreements for wind power projects as follows::
PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability
1. This Circular stipulates the implementation of wind power project development and promulgates the model Power Purchase Agreement for wind power projects in Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as the model Power Purchase Agreement).
Article 2. This Circular applies to the following entities:
c) Electricity buyers;
b) Organizations developing wind power projects for business purposes of buying and selling electricity;
c) Units managing and operating wind power facilities;
d) Electricity purchaser;
đ) Other organizations and individuals related thereto.
Article 2. Interpretation of Terms
In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:
1. Electricity purchaser is the Vietnam Electricity Corporation or its affiliated units authorized.
2. The Seller is the enterprise producing, operating, and selling electricity from wind power projects.
3. Unit managing and operating wind power facilities is the organization directly implementing management and operation of grid-connected or off-grid wind power projects. This organization may be the project sponsor or a unit hired or assigned by the project sponsor to manage and operate the wind power project.
4. Area for survey and research for wind power project investment is the area within the geographical boundaries defined by the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city in the approval document for the investor to conduct surveys and studies to assess wind potential for wind power investment projects within a permitted period. This area can only be used for survey and research activities such as building wind measurement towers, geological and topographical surveys (if necessary).
5. Land use area with a term of wind power projects is the total area of the turbine foundation, the protected area around the turbine foundation, the right-of-way for transmission lines, substations, and the protected area around substations, the construction area for internal traffic systems and administrative buildings. The land use area with a term is granted by the competent authority to the project sponsor throughout the life of the project.
6. Temporary land use area of wind power projects is the temporary area that the project sponsor is allowed to use for wind power project construction, including: temporary roads for construction, material and equipment storage areas, construction zones, temporary worker camps, and other auxiliary sites. After completion of the works, the temporary land use area not included in the land use area with a term will be reclaimed by the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city for other uses.
7. Safety zone of wind power facilities is the safety zone of wind tower columns, transmission lines; substations and ancillary structures.
8. Safety zone of wind turbines is a circle with the center at the base of the wind tower column, and a minimum radius equal to the height of the wind tower column plus the radius of the wind turbine blades.
Chapter II
PHÁT TRIỂN DỰ ÁN ĐIỆN GIÓ
Article 3. List of Wind Power Projects
1. Before November 30 each year, the General Department of Energy shall take the lead in establishing and reporting to the Minister of Industry and Trade for approval and issuance of the List of Wind Power Projects that will be permitted to develop in the following year and projected over the next five years.
2. Wind power projects included in the List of Wind Power Projects for annual operation and within the planning cycle must be consistent with the National Power Development Plan and the Provincial Power Development Plan approved at each stage.
3. The List of Wind Power Projects shall be established and classified based on the wind power development potential of localities and nationwide, the number of registered projects must follow the principle of prioritizing projects with high economic and financial efficiency, having good grid connection and capacity release plans, clean land plots, and projects registered earlier will be considered for development first.
4. The List of Wind Power Projects includes relevant information, including: project name, location, area, and boundaries of the wind power project development zone, individual project capacity scale, proposed grid connection plan for wind power projects to the national power system, expected progress and operational commencement time of the project.
5. Based on the approved Provincial Wind Power Development Plan, the List of Wind Power Projects must be updated into the list of power generation projects in the Provincial Power Development Plan and must specify the specific grid connection plan for wind power projects to the national power system.
Article 4. Proposing New Wind Power Projects into the Wind Power Development Plan
1. Wind power projects may be proposed for areas and regions not included in the approved List of Wind Power Projects. The scale of proposed wind power projects must be consistent with the approved potential areas of the National Wind Power Plan or the Provincial Wind Power Plan where the proposed project is located.
2. Investors shall prepare proposal documents for wind power projects in accordance with laws on investment and construction and submit them to the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city (hereinafter referred to as the provincial People's Committee) where the project is located. Based on the project proposal, the provincial People's Committee shall prepare a Supplemental Planning Proposal Document (hereinafter referred to as the Supplemental Planning Proposal Document) in accordance with Clause 5 of this Article and report it to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
3. The General Department of Energy shall be responsible for organizing the review of the Supplemental Planning Proposal Document within thirty (30) working days from the date of receipt of complete and valid documents. If necessary, the General Department of Energy may hire consultants for review and counter-consultation services for the review work. Based on the review results, the General Department of Energy shall report to the Minister of Industry and Trade for consideration and decision.
4. Depending on the scale of the project, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall consider and approve the inclusion of the project in the Wind Power Development Plan and endorse the investment policy for the project within their authority or submit to the Prime Minister for approval to adjust and supplement the Wind Power Development Plan and endorse the investment policy for the project.
5. Documents for proposing additional projects into the Wind Power Development Plan:
Documents for proposing additional projects into the Wind Power Development Plan include:
a) A letter from the Chairman of the provincial People's Committee requesting the inclusion of the project in the Wind Power Project Plan;
b) Basic information about the investor: Legal status documents, business registration, key personnel, experience in implementing projects, financial and technical capabilities, including a list of projects implemented in the last five years (including industrial and power projects) and the company's audited financial reports for the last three years;
c) Information about the proposed wind power project:
- The necessity of constructing the project, favorable and unfavorable conditions, resource exploitation and utilization regime (if applicable);
- Project description: location, scale, and construction area, project components; contents related to industry planning and local planning;
- Report on wind measurement results at locations within the project scope for a minimum continuous period of twelve months as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 5 of this Circular;
- Preliminary implementation solutions, including: session numbertechnical and technological plans and capacity; session numbergrid connection plan; equipment installation plan; implementation schedule and project management form; general plan regarding compensation and resettlement and infrastructure construction support plans if applicable; budget plan and cost allocation plan;
- Environmental impact assessment, fire prevention and firefighting measures, and security and defense requirements;
- Total project investment; capital arrangement capability, sources of funds, and funding capacity according to the schedule; economic and financial effectiveness analysis and social benefits of the project.
d) Opinions of the Regional Electricity Corporation or transmission units (if connected to the transmission grid) on the Supplemental Planning Proposal Document.
Article 5. Requirements for wind measurement and reporting of measurement results
1. Wind measurement shall be conducted at representative locations within the project area for a minimum period of twelve (12) consecutive months. The number of wind measurement towers must ensure compatibility with the changes in the topography of the project area. For projects with expected capacity greater than fifty (50) MW (land area used for wind potential research and assessment larger than one thousand (1000) ha), investors must install and operate at least two (02) wind measurement towers within the project area.
2. For wind power projects included in the list of power generation projects in the national power development plan or provincial wind power development plan that have been approved, investors must have the results of wind potential research and assessment before establishing and approving the investment project. In cases where the wind power development plans at various levels already have complete sets of wind measurement data at the project location, investors may use these data sets for the establishment and approval of the investment project. If the wind power development plans at various levels do not yet have complete sets of wind measurement data, investors must conduct wind potential research and assessment according to regulations.
3. For new wind power projects proposed but not included in the list of projects in the approved provincial wind power development plan, investors must conduct wind measurements according to regulations after obtaining permission from the Provincial People's Committee to serve as the basis for submitting supplementary planning proposals, approving the investment policy for wind power projects, and establishing wind power investment projects.
4. The report on wind measurement results shall include contents regarding the methodology implemented, duration of wind measurement, implementation methods, equipment description, set of wind measurement data results, and analysis of wind measurement results. The wind measurement data set must meet standards and representatively cover all information about wind speed statistics, wind frequency, wind roses, energy distribution maps, air humidity, solar radiation, atmospheric pressure. The wind measurement data must be collected from wind measurement towers with a minimum height of sixty (60) meters, with a collection frequency of ten (10) minutes per instance, and a minimum collection cycle of twelve (12) months at measurement points within the project area.
5. Investors are responsible for submitting the Report on Wind Measurement Results (including original data sets) to the Department of Industry and Trade and the Energy General Administration within eighteen (18) months from the date the competent authority permits the study and assessment of wind potential at the project location.
Article 6. Investment Projects for Wind Power Development
1. Investors are only allowed to establish wind power investment projects listed in the Wind Power Project List approved by the Minister of Industry and Trade. The content of wind power investment projects shall comply with current regulations on construction project investment management and the provisions stipulated in Clause 4 of this Article.
2. For wind power projects divided into phases with different stages and total capacities for each stage entering operation at different years, investors are responsible for establishing investment projects for each phase. In cases where the operational commencement time of the project is expected to deviate more than six (6) months from the schedule specified in the wind power development plan, investors must report to the Energy General Administration for review and approval.
3. The equity capital ratio of wind power projects must not be less than twenty percent (20%) of the total investment amount.
4. The content of wind power investment projects according to laws on construction project investment management includes the following main contents:
a) Report on wind measurement results as prescribed in Clause 4 of Article 5 of this Circular;
b) Land area used for the wind power project;
c) Assessment of the impact of the grid connection scheme of the wind power project on the regional power system;
d) Plan and cost, technical measures for dismantling and handling wind power plant equipment after the completion of the project.
5. The Provincial People's Committee issues the Investment Certificate to the investor after receiving a consent letter from the Ministry of Industry and Trade regarding the compliance of the wind power project with the wind power development plans at various levels and the approved list of wind power projects.
Article 7. Conditions for Commencing Construction of Wind Power Project
A wind power project may only commence construction when it meets the conditions stipulated by laws on investment management and construction projects and satisfies the following requirements:
1. Possessing an Investment Certificate.
2. Having signed a Power Purchase Agreement with the Electricity Purchaser.
3. Having an Interconnection Agreement with the Distribution Unit or Transmission Unit.
4. Having a financial supply contract and a commitment regarding the source of capital to ensure that the construction progress aligns with the approved construction project investment schedule.
Article 8. Termination of Implementation of Wind Power Projects
The termination of implementation of wind power projects shall be applied in any of the following cases:
1. Within twelve (12) months from the date of issuance of the Investment Certificate, if the investor does not commence construction of the main component of the project, the provincial People's Committee shall be responsible for considering the revocation of the Investment Certificate and reporting to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In case of valid reasons, the project may be granted an extension of up to twelve (12) months beyond the schedule stated in the Investment Certificate.
2. Within twenty-four (24) months from the date of operation commitment in the Investment Certificate, if the project has not commenced commercial power generation, the provincial People's Committee shall be responsible for considering and deciding to terminate the investment project, revoke the Investment Certificate without bearing responsibility for compensating losses to the investor, and report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade about the decision to terminate the investment project.
Article 9. Reporting System and Operation Management
Within ten (10) working days from the date of approval of the investment project, the investor shall be responsible for submitting a complete set of documents on the wind power investment project (including one (01) printed copy and one (01) electronic copy) to the General Department of Energy and the Department of Industry and Trade for management and monitoring.
Within ten (10) working days from the date of issuance of the Investment Certificate, the provincial People's Committee shall be responsible for sending one (01) copy of the Investment Certificate to the General Department of Energy for monitoring and management.
Within ten (10) working days from the date of signing the Power Purchase Agreement with the investor, the Electricity Seller shall be responsible for submitting one (01) certified copy of the Power Purchase Agreement to the General Department of Energy and the Ministry of Industry and Trade for monitoring and management.
During the construction period of the wind power project, before the fifteenth day of the first month of each quarter, the investor must submit a report on the implementation status of the previous quarter's project and the plan for the next quarter. Annually, before January 15th, the investor must submit a report on the implementation status of the previous year's project and the plan for the next year. These reports from the investor must be submitted simultaneously to the General Department of Energy and the Department of Industry and Trade for management and monitoring.
During the operational phase, before May 31st each year, the investor must submit a report on the electricity production volume from the wind power plant in the previous year and the estimated production volume for the next year to the General Department of Energy for registration of funding support for the next year's wind power electricity price from the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund.
After the completion and commissioning of the wind power project, the investor must comply with current regulations on the management of power facilities operations and environmental protection.
Article 10. Wind farm equipment and performance
1. Wind measurement devices and wind power plant equipment must ensure compliance with Vietnamese technical standards and regulations or international standard IEC or equivalent standards.
2. Wind turbines must be unused, with a production time not exceeding five (05) years, accompanied by a Certificate of Origin and a Production Compliance Certificate. In cases where a wind power project uses used turbines, a report must be submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for coordination with relevant agencies to examine and decide.
3. The efficiency of the wind farm (wind turbine layout) shall not be less than ninety percent (90%).
Article 11. Safety of the Project
1. The scope of wind power plants includes areas of wind tower columns, transmission lines, substations, and other ancillary facilities.
2. Safety corridors for wind power plants, safety corridors for wind turbines, safety corridors for transmission lines, and substations must comply with electrical equipment technical standards, high-voltage power grid construction safety protection regulations, and other legal provisions regarding power facility safety.
3. Strictly prohibit the construction of facility components (residential areas, industrial bases, infrastructure technical facilities, residential buildings, schools, streets, railways, power lines, communication signal lines, etc.) that violate the safety corridor of wind power plants.
Article 12. Land Area
1. Land used during the development of wind power projects includes: land area for surveying and researching wind power projects; land use area with a term for wind power projects; temporary land use area for wind power projects.
2. The land area used for wind power projects must be commensurate with the scale of the power plant's capacity. The term land use quota for wind power projects shall not exceed zero point five (0.5) hectares per megawatt (MW). The temporary land use area for wind power projects shall not exceed zero point seven (0.7 hectares per MW). In cases where the access road to the project has complex terrain requiring expansion to facilitate turbine and wind tower transportation during the construction and operation phases, the provincial People's Committee may consider allowing the term land use quota for wind power projects up to one (1) hectare per MW.
Article 13. Management and Usage of Land within Wind Power Project Areas
1. Land used within the wind power plant area must be consistent with land use planning and not overlap with other approved plans by competent authorities.
2. Priority should be given to developing wind power projects on barren, rocky lands with little agricultural or aquaculture value, sparsely populated areas, or uninhabited areas.
3. Term land use for wind power plants shall not include the following types:
a) Residential land, administrative land;
b) Security and defense zones;
c) Industrial parks, production and business bases;
d) Infrastructure transport areas, including airports, railways, roads, waterways, and other transport facilities.
4. After the wind power plant enters operation, the investor must restore the temporarily occupied area to its original state and hand it over to local authorities for management.
5. The provincial People's Committee may permit the use of land in the wind power project area for appropriate purposes (agriculture, small-scale cultivation) while ensuring safety for the operation of power facilities.
Article 14. Environmental Protection Requirements
1. Wind power plants shall not violate archaeological sites, historical sites, cultural and religious sites, sensitive ecological areas, and natural conservation areas.
2. Wind power plants must be located at least three hundred meters (300m) away from residential areas..
3. Investment and development activities of wind power projects must comply with current environmental standards.
4. Wind power plants shall not affect air traffic, various radio waves, and electronic telecommunications of residential areas and surrounding facilities.
5. Wind turbines and wind tower columns must have light colors, non-reflective surfaces. Advertising on wind turbines is prohibited.
6. Investors must be responsible for restoring the environment after dismantling wind power plants.
Chapter III
SUPPORT FOR WIND POWER PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
Article 15. Annual registration for wind power plant grid-connected electricity price support
1. Before May 31 each year, the Electricity Purchaser shall be responsible for reporting to the General Department of Energy:
a) Summary information on wind power plants that have signed power purchase contracts for the following year (name of the plant, investor, capacity, production volume, location, area, number of contracts, date of signing the contract);
b) The amount of electricity purchased from wind power plants in the previous year;
c) Estimated electricity production volume to be purchased from wind power plants in the current year and the following year for each plant, and the estimated total amount of electricity price support according to regulations.
2. The General Department of Energy shall review, compile, and report to the Minister of Industry and Trade for consideration and submission to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Finance to register the budget for electricity price support.
Article 16. Adjustment of Wind Power Purchase Price
Before October 30 each year, based on costs and the general electricity price of the system, the General Department of Energy shall propose a plan to adjust the preferential purchase price of wind power projects at the point of delivery and the electricity price support level, to be reported to the Minister of Industry and Trade for presentation to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.
Article 17. Support for Off-grid Wind Power Projects
1. Principles and conditions for considering support for off-grid wind power projects:
a) Ensuring economic, social, and environmental effectiveness;
b) Completion of the project and its operation;
c) Some key input data for calculating the electricity price and support unit price for wind power projects will be considered based on the following principles:
- In cases where the installed capacity of the project exceeds the actual required capacity of the regional power grid, the actual electricity generation volume of the previous year and the forecasted generation volume in subsequent years will serve as the basis for determining the support unit price. For other projects, the electricity generation volume will be taken from either the actual generation volume or the forecasted generation volume in the approved investment project, using the larger figure;
- The total investment cost of the project will be taken from the total investment cost in the approved investment project but not exceeding fifty-one (51) million VND/kW (equivalent to two thousand five hundred (2,500) USD/kW);
- Depreciation costs according to current legal provisions.
2. Procedure for registering electricity price support for off-grid wind power projects:
a) The investor of the off-grid wind power project shall prepare a proposal for electricity price support for the off-grid wind power project and submit it directly or via postal service to the General Department of Energy. The number of proposals required: ten (10) sets of proposals and one (01) CD/DVD/USB containing the soft copy of the proposal for electricity price support and accompanying documents.
b) Within thirty (30) days from the date of receiving complete and valid proposals, the General Department of Energy shall be responsible for organizing the review of the proposal for support, reporting to the Minister of Industry and Trade for presentation to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval. If necessary, the General Department of Energy may hire consultants for review and counter-consultation to assist with the review process.
In case the proposal is invalid, within ten (10) working days from the date of receipt of the proposal for electricity price support for the off-grid wind power project, the General Department of Energy must notify the investor in writing to request additional documentation or resubmit the proposal.
3. The proposal for electricity price support for off-grid wind power projects includes:
a) The investment project including explanations on the pricing plan and main contents regarding the necessity and effectiveness of the support plan;
b) Report on the results of research and evaluation of wind potential for a minimum period of twelve (12) consecutive months at the location within the scope of the project;
c) Operation Plan and Business Plan;
d) Plan and technical measures for dismantling and handling equipment of the wind power plant after the completion of the project;
đ) Opinion of the People's Committee of the province on the content of the proposal for support;
e) Opinion of the Electricity Corporation where the project is located on the content of the proposal for investment and development of the project.
Chapter IV
MODEL ELECTRICITY PURCHASE AND SALE CONTRACT FOR WIND POWER PROJECTS CONNECTED TO THE GRID
Article 18. Conditions for applying the Model Power Purchase Agreement for wind power projects
1. The use of the Model Power Purchase Agreement for wind power projects is mandatory in the sale of electricity between grid-connected wind power projects and the buyer.
2. Wind power projects must generate all electrical energy from wind sources.
Article 19. Contents of the Model Power Purchase Agreement for wind power projects
1. The contents of the Model Power Purchase Agreement for wind power projects are specified in the Appendix attached to this Circular.
2. The seller and the buyer may supplement the contents of the Model Power Purchase Agreement to clarify the responsibilities and rights of each party without changing the fundamental contents of the Model Power Purchase Agreement.
Chapter V
IMPLEMENTATION
Article 20. Implementation
1. The General Department of Energy shall be responsible for disseminating, guiding, and supervising the implementation of this Circular. In the course of implementation, if there are difficulties, the General Department of Energy will coordinate with relevant units and localities to examine and propose the Minister of Industry and Trade to amend and supplement this Circular.
2. The People's Committee of the province shall monitor, supervise, and inspect the operation and development of wind power projects in the locality according to the approved wind power development plan, in compliance with the provisions of this Circular.
Article 21. Effective Date
This Circular takes effect from December 27, 2012./.

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