Vietnam Inaugurates Southeast Asia’s Largest Solar Project

The Dau Tieng solar power complex has been inaugurated in Vietnam, and with a designated solar capacity of 420 MW, the largest solar project in Southeast Asia.

The solar complex, which is a joint venture with the Thai industrial group B.Grimm Power Public Company, occupies 540 hectares in Tay Ninh province, some 100 km from Ho Chi Minh City, and has an investment of more than USD 391 million, developer Xuan Cau told local news. The solar farm is capable of generating 688 million kWh of electricity annually.

The complex, which was officially inaugurated on Saturday, was constructed on the Dau Tieng Reservoir – the largest artificial lake in Vietnam – and is expected to generate 10 percent of the country’s solar energy to guarantee supply to 320,000 homes. The company said it will also prevent the emission of 595,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.

Speaking at the grand opening ceremony held in the province on Saturday, head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, Nguyen Van Binh, told local reporters that this is a pioneer project in exploiting and developing great potential for renewable solar energy locally according to the government’s policy of encouraging the development of renewable energy, as well as demonstrating the deep economic co-operation between Vietnam and Thailand

“The DT1 and DT2 complexes have turned Tay Ninh to be one of the hubs of solar power of the whole country; exploiting commercial electricity according to designed capacity, contributing to supplementing precious, green and clean energy sources, ensuring national energy security and serving local socio-economic development in the industrialization and modernization process,” he said.

Binh said Vietnam encourages investment and development of renewable energy including solar, wind, biomass and geothermal energy, which will be gradually replacing traditional energy sources such as thermal power and hydropower, adding: “Renewable energy is a clean, an environmentally friendly energy source that is the general development trend of the world.”

B. Grimm Power has also invested USD 35.2 million to acquire from Truong Thanh Viet Nam Group an 80 percent stake in a solar power plant project located in Phu Yen Province, on Vietnam’s south-central coast, with an installed capacity of 257 MW.

Published with permission from Saur Energy