Financing renewable energy projects in Vietnam: Financing gaps and a feasible capital structure model

This study examines renewable energy project financing in Vietnam amid an updated electricity regulatory framework and rapidly increasing capital requirements under the revised Power Development Plan VIII. Using qualitative policy analysis, secondary data, and evidence from actual project-finance transactions, the study finds that the main constraint is not simply capital scarcity but project bankability. Key issues include cash-flow predictability, contractual risk allocation, transmission and curtailment risks, foreign-exchange exposure, and power-offtaker creditworthiness. The study proposes a layered capital structure combining sponsor equity, commercial debt, concessional finance, guarantees, green bonds, and hedging instruments, together with a financing pathway based on project-development milestones. The study recommends shifting policy emphasis from merely mobilizing additional capital toward standardizing projects so that they are sufficiently bankable and finance-ready.