Solar could help Vietnam avoid almost USD 600 million from coal and gas imports as Iran war drives up energy prices

A briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics analyzing how Vietnam's investment in solar power mitigates the economic impact of soaring fossil fuel prices caused by a conflict in Iran, while warning that continued reliance on coal and LNG imports increases future vulnerability to price shocks.

• Vietnam's solar power generation is estimated to save the country USD 594 million (approximately VND 15.6 trillion) in avoided coal and gas imports due to price increases resulting from the Iran war. This total consists of USD 545.4 million from coal and USD 49.3 million from gas. These savings are equivalent to the annual healthcare costs for approximately 2.2 million citizens.
• Vietnam leads Southeast Asia in renewable power generation, with solar and wind accounting for approximately 13% of its total power in 2024 (38.7 TWh), whereas the ASEAN-5 countries each remained below 5%. This growth was driven by a feed-in tariff policy implemented in 2017, which saw solar capacity increase from 28 MW in 2017 to 16.7 GW by 2020.
• Despite its renewable growth, Vietnam remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, with coal making up 50.3% of power generation in 2024. Under the revised Power Development Plan (PDP8), Vietnam aims to develop 22.4 GW of LNG-fired power by 2030. By 2030, it is projected that 40% of Vietnam's power will come from imports: 25% from coal and 15% from LNG.
• To support the transition to a low-emissions economy, Vietnam launched a pilot Emissions Trading Scheme in June 2025. Running from August 2025 to the end of 2026, the scheme targets the steel, cement, and thermal power industries, which together represent about 40% of national emissions.
• The conflict in the Middle East has caused Asian energy prices to spike; as of March 11, Asian LNG prices reached USD 16 per mmBtu (a 49% increase from February 27), and Asian Newcastle coal rose to USD 150 per tonne on March 9.

APA

Kong, A. (2026). Solar could help Vietnam avoid almost USD 600 million from coal and gas imports as Iran war drives up energy prices. Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/solar-could-help-vietnam-avoid-almost-usd-600-million-from-coal-and-gas-imports-as-iran-war-drives-up-energy-prices/

Chicago

Kong, Amy. Solar could help Vietnam avoid almost USD 600 million from coal and gas imports as Iran war drives up energy prices. Zero Carbon Analytics, 2026. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/solar-could-help-vietnam-avoid-almost-usd-600-million-from-coal-and-gas-imports-as-iran-war-drives-up-energy-prices/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kong |first1=Amy |title=Solar could help Vietnam avoid almost USD 600 million from coal and gas imports as Iran war drives up energy prices |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=16 March 2026 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/solar-could-help-vietnam-avoid-almost-usd-600-million-from-coal-and-gas-imports-as-iran-war-drives-up-energy-prices/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kong2026solar, author = {Kong, Amy}, title = {{Solar could help Vietnam avoid almost USD 600 million from coal and gas imports as Iran war drives up energy prices}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/solar-could-help-vietnam-avoid-almost-usd-600-million-from-coal-and-gas-imports-as-iran-war-drives-up-energy-prices/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }