Making a mark as an unlikely solar champion

Sunnier days ahead: The plunging price of solar panels, many of which are assembled domestically, has created a cheap and convenient alternative to fossil fuels. — Bloomberg

Nguyen Tuan was watching the sun shine down on his 4ha cantaloupe farm in southern Vietnam when he realised it could do more than help his crops grow.

The 46-year-old installed 40 solar panels on greenhouses at his farm 88km outside of Ho Chi Minh City. Thanks to generous subsidies from the national utility, he not only cut his power bill but now earns about two million dong (RM359) a month selling excess electricity to the nation’s grid.