The 252-megawatt Quang Binh wind farm project of Ayala-led AC Energy Corporation (ACEN) and its partner AMI Renewables has been completed and set on commercial operation ahead of schedule, so it can avail of the feed-in-tariff (FIT) incentives being offered by the Vietnamese government.
That newly commissioned wind farm facility, according to ACEN, “is one of the largest in Vietnam,” and it is expected to generate 648 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity per year, which would then be able to power at least 270,000 homes.
Based on a policy laid down by the Vietnamese government in September 2018, onshore wind farm developments commissioned before November 1, 2021 can be extended with FIT incentives amounting to US$0.085 per kilowatt hour or an equivalent of P4.25 per kWh.
Patrice Clausse, head of International Group of ACEN, said “the 252MW Quang Binh wind farm plays a critical role in helping Vietnam achieve its renewable energy target, and is a testament to our ability to execute large scale developments amidst challenging times.”
The facility’s wind turbines stand at 145 meters in hub height; and ACEN noted that such scale of technology deployment will allow “the optimization of wind energy production.”
This is the second wind farm project of the Ayala group in Vietnam – the other one is the 40MW Mui Ne wind farm in Binh Thuan, which is its joint venture with The Blue Circle of Singapore.
For its investment tie-up with AMI Renewables, ACEN noted that the Quang Binh installation is already their third JV project – the first two had been the 50MW Khanh Hoa and 30MW Dak Lak solar farm developments that have been on commercial stream since 2019.
Their follow-through joint venture, which is a pioneering one, is the installation of battery energy storage system (BESS) that will be integrated into their existing 50MW Khanh Hoa solar facility.
Nguyen Nam Thang, board director and CEO of AMI AC Renewables, emphasized that the newly completed Quang Binh wind farm venture will be part of the 1,000MW capacity build-up that their tandem with the Ayala group will be targeting until 2025.
“ACEN’s renewables growth continues to accelerate, and we are delighted to be part of Vietnam’s rapid development towards a more sustainable future....to be part of Vietnam’s energy transition to a net zero future has been a privilege as well as a challenge, but we – AMI AC Renewables – are keen to follow to reach the goal,” he stressed.
The Quang Binh wind farm project, at its construction phase, had generated 1,600 jobs in Vietnam; and in the course of its operations, it could log carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions avoidance equivalent to 580,000 tons annually.