Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI Global), a global development company has invited expressions of interest (EoI) on behalf of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Vietnam government from renewable energy project developers who need technical assistance.

The activity is based on the fact that if the risk costs can be offset with USAID support, the renewable energy developers will be more likely to invest in new projects to help the country meet its energy needs.

To get assistance, the firms should submit bids that outline the kind of support needed to offset the risk and transaction costs and how USAID’s support will help develop renewable energy projects. The technical assistance support includes feasibility studies, investment transaction advisory services, environmental analyses, legal advisory services, and other activities.

Depending on the focus of the selected EoIs, INVEST will provide technical assistance to the selected firms. The concepts should be for a discrete activity that should not exceed $300,000 (~₹22.02 million) in value.

Interested bidders should submit a presentation that includes the applicants’ working experience in Vietnam, the proposed renewable energy project, the obstacle that needs external assistance, and how it will benefit the underserved population.

The last date to submit the bids is January 16, 2021.

Depending on the obstacles or needs stated in the EoIs, INVEST will procure external expertise to help address the specific obstacle. According to the USAID country development cooperation strategy 2020 to 2025, to keep pace with increasing energy demand, electricity sector investments will need to increase substantially, to around $8 (~₹587.3 billion)–$10 billion (~₹734.09 billion) annually through 2030. Without foreign capital, technology, and expertise, the Government of Vietnam predicts power shortages beginning in 2021, negatively impacting economic growth.

To help accelerate renewable energy project development, Vietnam INVEST will provide in-kind support to developers, investors, and other organizations with proposed projects in Vietnam.

As per the tender document, solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, biomass projects, and waste energy projects will be eligible for consideration. The projects mentioned above should be situated in Vietnam.

The EoI should describe the specific activity for which the help has been requested and explain how it will advance the renewable energy project. The bidder will also have to provide the cost estimate for the requested support.

Based in Washington, D.C., INVEST is USAID’s flagship blended finance initiative. It has built a network of approximately 250 partners that provide the niche, technical expertise USAID needs on-demand. INVEST has supported transactions in enterprise development, infrastructure, and financing instruments or funds, in more than 20 countries.

USAID and the Government of Vietnam launched the INVEST Activity in August 2019 to explore and facilitate private investments in the energy, healthcare, education, and infrastructure sectors. The ‘Renewable Energy Transaction Assistance Fund’ was designed to offset transaction costs and reduce the risk profiles of renewable energy projects for American, Vietnamese, and regional firms who are hesitant to invest in the current climate.

Various development banks and institutions are providing support to build renewable energy projects in Vietnam. Last year, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the German research institute, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, signed an agreement together with other partners from the private and public sector to implement a new project of combining aquaculture farming with solar photovoltaics in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.

Earlier, the International Finance Corporation, announced that it would provide a loan to the Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank to help expand its lending capacity to small and medium enterprises for climate-friendly projects.