AC Energy’s renewable energy (RE) projects in Vietnam, both in operation and under construction, are now close to 1,000 megawatts (MW), 637MW of which are attributable to the company.
The Ayala-led firm announced on Tuesday that it currently has 525MW in solar and wind farms in the country and has 440MW in RE capacity in the works.
Vietnam is AC Energy’s largest international market.
The 405MW Ninh Thuan solar farm, AC Energy’s maiden project in the country and one of Southeast Asia’s largest solar facilities, recently reached a significant milestone with a one billion kilowatt-hour output, clocking in 183,682 man hours for a sterling performance on health and safety with zero lost time due to accidents.
Developed together with Vietnamese conglomerate BIM Group, Ninh Thuan began operations in 2019. It was also in the same year that AC Energy and AMI Renewables opened the 80MW Khan Hoa and Dak Lak solar farms.
“Vietnam is an ideal place for sustainable investments as it leads the race to clean energy transition in the post-COVID world,” AC Energy President and CEO Eric Francia said in a statement.
“Our partners’ deep market expertise bolster our leadership position in Vietnam as we aim to play a meaningful role in the green-led recovery by building climate resilience and creating jobs. We remain well-poised to be one of the largest listed renewables platforms in Southeast Asia, and reach 5,000MW of renewables capacity by 2025,” he continued.
AC Energy and its partners are also investing $445 million (around Php22.4 billion) for the expansion of its RE portfolio in the country.
Among these are the 252MW Quang Binh wind farm, Vietnam’s largest onshore wind project to-date. Foundation works for 52 out of its 60 turbines are already completed with 14 turbines installed, while the project’s transmission lines are also completed and both substations energized. The project, which is being developed with AMI Renewables, will feature wind turbines at a hub- height of 145 meters to optimize the wind energy production.
Meanwhile, the 88MW Ninh Thuan wind farm, another AC Energy-BIM project, recently completed its foundation pour, with six turbines fully erected and installed. The wind farm’s transmission lines and substation are already completed and up for energization. AC Energy earlier tapped GE Renewable Energy to install wind turbines for the project.
The Ayalas’ power arm also partnered with UPC Renewables for the Lac Hoa and Hoa Dong wind farms, with a total capacity of 60MW. It is also working with Singapore-based wind turbine developer The Blue Circle for the Mui Ne wind farm (photo above), with a 170MW expansion potential.
“These project milestones happening in Vietnam all make for a really exciting period in our renewables expansion,” said AC Energy International COO Patrice Clausse.
“We are carving a niche for AC Energy through our landmark sustainable investments, establishing a solid track record in this country. We will continue to develop large-scale developments to support Vietnam’s goal to increase the share of renewables in their energy mix,” he continued.
