AC Energy reaches 1,000MW milestone in key Vietnam market

AC Energy from the Philippines counts Vietnam as its largest international market

Since 2017, AC Energy, the power arm of conglomerate Ayala Corp., has been pushing its renewables agenda to become a primary mover in Vietnam. The company aims to tap into the country's potential renewable energy growth and favourable tariff system.

“Vietnam is an ideal place for sustainable investments as it leads the race to clean energy transition in the post-COVID world,” said Eric Francia, AC Energy president and CEO. “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.”

Deeming Vietnam as a priority market, AC Energy has teamed up with several partners to expand its portfolio in the country. Specifically, AC Energy has partnered with Vietnam's BIM Group to develop the 405MW Ninh Thuan solar farm, one of the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, the 80MW Khan Hoa and Dak Lak solar farms, developed in partnership with AMI Renewables, also started operations in 2019.

In 2020, as the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic that led to a global economic downturn, Vietnam’s renewable energy sector remained vibrant, fully supported by its government through policies such as the feed-in-tariff for wind power first introduced in 2018.

To leverage Vietnam’s strong wind resource potential, AC Energy and its partners have co-developed wind projects in the country with a total investment capital of $445 million. The wind projects under construction reach 440MW in capacity including the 80MW Mui Ne wind farm in Binh Thuan in partnership with The Blue Circle as well as the Lac Hoa and Hoa Dong wind farms in Soc Trang in collaboration with UPC Renewables with an aggregate capacity of 60MW.

The largest onshore wind farm in Vietnam, the 252MW Quang Binh wind farm, is AC Energy’s latest partnership with AMI Renewables. Meanwhile, the 88MW Ninh Thuan wind farm with BIM Group, recently completed its foundation pour, with six turbines fully erected and installed.

"These project milestones happening in Vietnam all make for a really exciting period in our renewables expansion,” said Patrice Clausse, COO of AC Energy International. “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.”