Grant of Investment Policy Decision on Sinenergy Ninh Thuan I Solar Power Project combining with Hi-tech agriculture

On January 9, the Ninh Thuan provincial People's Committee held a ceremony to grant the investment policy decision on Sinenergy Ninh Thuan I solar power plant project combined with Hi-tech agriculture to Sinenergy Holdings Pte.Ltd (Singapore).

Attending the ceremony has the leaders: Mr. Luu Xuan Vinh, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and Mr. Pham Van Hau, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

The project of Sinenergy Ninh Thuan I solar power plant combining with Hi-tech agriculture has a capacity of 50MWp with total investment capital of VND1,319 billion. It is implemented in Phuoc Huu commune (Ninh Phuoc) in an area of 60ha. The duration of project operation is 50 years as of the date of decision issuance on investment policy. The progress of the project lasts 18 months, of which:

Dohwa solar power project has been added to the PDP of Quang Binh province

Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has just decided to add a Dohwa solar power project to the power development planning of Qung Binh province in 2016 – 2025 period with outlook up to 2035. This is a project among the Dohwa renewable energy complex of Dohwa Group (Korea) which has a capacity of 49.5 MW and occupies 75.1 ha area in Ngu Thuy Bac village, Hung Thuy commune, Le Thuy district, Quang Binh province.

The solar project will be connected with the power system by a generator step up transformer with a capacity of 63MVA and voltage of 22/110kV, and a 110kV single transmission line from the project to Cam Lien 110kV transformer substation with a length of 6.5km. These components expect to be operated by 2019.

MOIT requires Dohwa group in cooperation with Quang Binh People’s Committee, Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and EVN Central Power Corporation to be responsible to mobilize the capital and invest in items added in the planning in accordance with the schedule and ensure the safe electricity supply. MOIT also requires the investor to be responsible for project investment efficiency and comply with the electricity price under Prime Minister’s Decision No 11/2017/QĐ-TTg

The total project expects to be completed at the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019.

For more information on investment opportunities in Vietnam, visit our homepage

Source: Vietnam Energy Online

Implementing the Vietnam offshore wind power project

In Vung Tau city has been held the signing ceremony on comprehensive cooperation between the Singapore Enterprize Energy & RE Global Solution and the associate of PetroVietnam Construction Joint Stock Corporation (PVC) and Vietsovpetro (VSP) to develop an offshore wind power project in Vietnam. The project is located in 30 km from Binh Thuan sea coast and has a capacity of 1200 MW, total investment level of US$ 3.5 billion. The investment of the project will be diverged in two phases as 600 MW in 2018 - 2021 and 600 MW in 2021 – 2023.

                    

The associate PVC – VSP has achieved the agreements with the investors on comprehensive cooperation to manufacture the offshore wind turbines (OWT) with the towers and the offshore tranformer stations (OSS), as well as transport an install all the equipment and building companens of the project.

The sides have agreed to cooperate in all the fields relating to the project such as development, finance, construction, property, operation and mantainance in a series of periods suitable with the plan of using financial resources for manufacturring (in 2019 - 2020), corresponding to the ofshore installing (beginning in 2021).

Solar energy industry poised to take off

The investment rate in solar power systems is now just equal to 20-30 percent of the rate of 10 years ago.

According to the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), Vietnam has about 30 solar power projects, a figure which, according to Le Chi Hiep, chair of the Institute of Sustainable Energy Research, an arm of the HCMC National University, is modest compared with Vietnam’s great potential in solar energy.

Mr Le Chi Hiep from the HCMC National University

In Vietnam, solar power began in 1990 and significant development has occurred since 1999. Many families have used solar power to heat water. HCMC University of Technology has installed many solar panels in the last 2-3 years.

However, the proportion of solar power works is still modest in comparison with power from fossil fuels.

In an effort to increase the number of solar power works, EVN recently committed to buy electricity from households’ solar power works at VND2,000 per kwh.

Hiep said that the core issue in developing solar power lies in economic benefits, not in technological solutions.

Therefore, the state needs to create an open and competitive market for investors to develop solar power projects.

“The price of VND2,000 per kwh is not attractive enough to investors,” Hiep said.

Workshop spotlights renewable energy investment in Vietnam

A workshop was held in Ho Chi Minh City on December 5, focusing on investment in renewable energy in line with Vietnam’s policy of developing alternative energy sources to ensure energy security and protect the environment.

The Bac Lieu wind power plant - Photo: VNA

In his remarks, Bo Monsted, Commercial Counsellor at the Danish Embassy in Vietnam said international investors, including those from Denmark, are very interested in Vietnam’s market with untapped huge potentials for wind power development, noting that with its experience and expertise, Denmark desires to share new technologies with Vietnam.

Pham Trong Thuc, a representative of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade described the event as an opportunity to introduce the country’s wind power potentials and incentives for investors in the field.

The Government of Vietnam has adopted numerous incentives to encourage capable international businesses to invest in wind power and transfer their technologies to local producers, he said.

Vietnam’s wind power potentials have not been fully exploited, particularly in the central region. There are only four operational projects with a combined capacity of more than 159 MW.

WB asks Vietnam to modify PPA on Renewable Energy

On December 11, 2017, in Hanoi at the working meeting on renewable energy (RE) development between Mr. Tran Tuan Anh, the Minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and Mr. Ousmane Dione, the National Director of the World Bank (WB) in Vietnam, Mr. Ousmane Dione asked Vietnam to modify the power purchase agreement (PPA) on RE in accordance with the most common international practice under the neutral jurisdiction.

Mr. Ousmane Dione said, currently WB is trying the best to find the ways to attract the international experts and private capitals for RE market in Vietnam. Therefore, it is suggested that Vietnam should soon create a legal framework, improve mechanisms and policies, firstly the existing regulations on RE prices. Beside the current feed in tariff (FiT) mechanism, the investment in procurement for RE projects through the auction system with samples of the international banks will allow Vietnam to cut the costs.

The Minister Tran Tuan Anh promised to consider this proposal of WB and carefully weigh it for each type of RE and informed that in recent years, the Vietnamese government has paid considerable attention to the development of renewable energy such as issued the strategy of RE development, set specific targets for each type of RE in the National Power Planning No VII (revised project).

Vietnam should speed up renewable energy development

Vietnam should develop renewable energy sources in a timely manner in order to meet the rising demand for electricity in the years to come, according to industry watchers.

A wind power project in the south-central coast province of Binh Thuan. Experts stress Vietnam should quickly develop renewable energy

Vietnam’s demand for electricity is seen picking up strongly, 265 billion kWh by 2020 and 570 billion kWh by 2030 compared to the current 170 billion kWh, according to a recent conference on the development of renewable energy.

The country’s power supply is heavily dependent on hydropower, coal-fired thermal power and gas which are gradually becoming exhausted in the coming years.

Industry experts said Vietnam should make use of potential power sources like renewable energy, and purchase more electricity from neighboring China, Laos and Cambodia in a bid to offset a possible shortfall of 100 billion kWh by 2020.

The development of wind, solar, and biomass power should be paid special attention to, as the growth of renewable energy has become a sustainable trend in which many countries are pursuing.

The Government is striving to reach 12 billion kWh of renewable energy by 2020. The figure is expected to amount to 89 billion kWh by 2030.

Meanwhile, despite increasing investments, wind, solar and biomass power sources are currently having modest capacities of around 100 MW, 15 MW and 10 MW respectively, well below potentials.

Tran Viet Ngai, chairman of the Vietnam Energy Association, told the Daily on August 1 that the country’s topographic and climatic characteristics are favorable for wind, solar and biomass power development.

Ngai suggested several solutions to prop up investments in renewable energy. In particular, local governments should create favorable conditions for investors to have sufficient land to develop such power generation facilities.

Besides, electricity prices should be adjusted in a reasonable manner. For instance, prices of wind and biomass power should be raised to some 9 cents per kWh to ensure that investors can recoup their investment capital.

Especially, these investors should be subject to tax exemptions in order to prop up their investments. Large companies active in electricity, oil, gas, coal and mineral sectors should also be assigned particular targets for developing these clean energy sources.

For more information on investment opportunities in Vietnam, visit our homepage

Source: The Saigon Times