Sun to shine on First Solar’s green plant

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First Solar spokeswoman Pia Alina Lange told VIR the company was pushing the construction work of a four-line manufacturing plant in Ho Chi Minh City.

First Solar’s $300 million plant is expected to start production in the second half of 2012, producing 238 megawatts annually, with its investment cost hitting $1.2 billion in next years.

Lange said First Solar came to Vietnam for a combination of economic and political factors, including the country’s business friendly environment.

“The manufacturing plant is part of First Solar’s global manufacturing network, serving customers world-wide. We certainly hope that some of the production will remain and provide green energy in Vietnam,” she said.

First Solar is the world’s largest manufacturer of thin-film photovoltaic modules. The company received investment certificate in January 2011, becoming the first foreign firm to build a solar module manufacturing factory in Vietnam.

The presence of First Solar in Vietnam is expected to boost the development of the solar power industry in the country, which is facing severe power shortages and is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change.

Huynh Kim Tuoc, chairman of the Red Sun Energy Joint Stock Company - which operates a solar cell manufacturing factory in southern Long An, said First Solar would offer a chance for local companies to improve advanced technology.

“As First Solar is the world’s largest solar module manufacturer, its investment here will be a driving force for the country’s solar industry,” he said.

Vietnam’s Indochina Energy Industry Company last July also gained a licence for building a solar cell manufacturing factory in Chu Lai Economic Zone, central Quang Nam province.

Indochina Energy Industry Company will pump $390 million to build the 11 hectare factory within one year from October, 2010 to October, 2011. Once completed, the factory will manufacture 2.4 million cells each year, equivalent to 120MW per year. The products  will serve domestic and export markets.

Located in the subequatorial region, Vietnam has good solar resources with solar radiation per square metre from 3 to 4.5 kilowatts per hour in winter and to around 4.5 to 6.5 kilowatts per hour in summer.

The number of hours of sunshine ranges between 1,800 hours and 2,700 hours each year. However, the price of imported equipment is pushing investment costs higher and investors are struggling to access finance, while the government offers no specific incentives nor financial support.

Most solar power generating systems are installed at households in northern mountainous and Mekong Delta regions.

Some foreign investors are eyeing to build solar energy farms in Vietnam to satisfy the rising power demand. US-based Cenergy Power is planning to build a solar energy farm in Cat Ba island, Haiphong City. Meanwhile, Belgium’s Enfinity Company is preparing to develop a large solar power farm in central Ninh Thuan province.