HANOI (AFP): Police in Vietnam will examine 32 clean energy projects as part of an anti-graft probe at the Southeast Asian country's ministry of industry and trade, the government said on Tuesday.
Vietnam has committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and a group of rich nations pledged to raise at least $15.5 billion to help wean it off fossil fuels.
Solar and wind power grew tenfold to 13 percent of electricity generation from 2015 to 2023, on par with the global average and exceeding some Southeast Asian peers, according to independent energy think tank Ember.
However, coal imports also surged this year, according to government data.
Vietnam's Communist Party authorities have led a fight against corruption in recent years during which thousands of people have been arrested, including top officials and senior business leaders.
Its new top leader To Lam, who took over as Communist Party general secretary after the death of Nguyen Phu Trong in July, has said he is determined to speed up the campaign.
The government said in a report citing the ministry of public security that state utility Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) had been asked to "provide information and documents relating to 10 solar and 22 wind power plants".
The documents include those relating to electricity sales and purchase agreements, as well as periodic and urgent checks of plants' installation capacity.
The case is part of a police investigation that began last year into alleged abuse of office at the industry and trade ministry.
The investigation includes cities and provinces in central Vietnam, the central highlands and the Mekong delta region, the report said.
Earlier reports said the government's inspectorate pinpointed last year several wrongdoings in electricity development in those localities, leading police to open an official investigation. - AFP
