AC Energy, partner looking at wind-power project in Vietnam

By Lenie Lectura – April 29, 2019
from Business Mirror

NINH THUAN Province, Vietnam—AC Energy Inc., the power-generation arm of conglomerate Ayala Corp., and the BIM Group of Vietnam are expected to collaborate again for a wind-power project here, following last Saturday’s inauguration of their 330-megawatt (MW) solar farm.

“We’re discussing further projects in Vietnam in the energy sector, still with AC Energy. We are looking at wind now,” BIM Group Chairman Doan Quoc Viet said.

The wind-power project would be put up in the province of Ninh Thuan where the solar facility is also located.

Viet could not yet say how big the wind-power project is, other than there are “a couple of constraints,” but AC Energy is not worried at all since the BIM Group has been studying the viability of wind power for seven years already.

“It’s very interesting because the BIM Group has been monitoring the wind pattern for a very long time now. Seven years of studies are critical and apparently ideal also,” said Ayala Corp. President and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala, who is also the chairman of AC Energy.

The BIM Group is targeting to build a portfolio of 1,000 MW of power-generating capacity. AC Energy is hoping the BIM Group would still prefer to be its partner.

“We’ve done 330MW with them.  We’re hopeful to partner with them to get that 1,000 MW. They also announced over 300 MW of wind to get to that 1,000 MW.  While we don’t have a firm agreement, of course, being good partners, we will be discussing to what extent we can continue our collaboration,” AC Energy president Eric Francia said.

The 330-MW solar farm of AC Energy and BIM Group is the largest solar-power project in Southeast Asia, costing $294 million.

The 330-MW solar farm is expected to generate 545 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy annually. This is roughly enough to supply 200,000 households. The project will also generate income and jobs for the province of Ninh Thuan.

The solar farm, comprising three facilities with respective installed capacities of 30 MW, 250 MW and 50 MW, is the first project under BIM/AC Renewables, the renewable-energy development platform of AC Energy and the BIM Group.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) was the sole lender, providing nonrecourse project financing of $232 million.

The commissioning of the solar farm—AC Energy’s maiden project in Vietnam—marks a milestone in the company’s regional expansion as it aims to reach its target of 5 gigawatt hours (GWh) of RE capacity by 2025, with renewables contributing at least 50 percent of total energy output.

The inauguration and ceremonial switch-on was led by Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Ninh Thuan Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Duc Thanh,  Ninh Thuan Chairman of People’s Committee, Luu Xuan Vinh,  Zobel de Ayala and Viet.

Francia said AC Energy is focusing on RE projects, particularly those registered with the government’s feed-in-tariff (FiT).

“For now, the policy of government is to support solar and wind with FiT. Therefore, we will invest behind the FiT of the government,” he said.

In Australia, AC Energy partnered with UPC Renewables, which is developing the 1,000-MW Robbins Island and Jim’s Plain wind-power projects in North West Tasmania, and the 600-MW New England solar farm near Uralla in New South Wales.

“We are planning to break ground in Australia within the second half of the year for the first phase of the 700-MW plant in South Wales,” Francia said.

AC Energy is also present in Indonesia. Its Sidrap wind project with UPC Renewables Indonesla Ltd. commenced operation in March last year.