AC Energy steps on gas with development of Vietnam's largest wind farm

Vietnam considered target market for wind farm projects of AC Energy

As Ayala Group's power generation arm, AC Energy is on a roll in expanding its renewable footprint as it is constructing a wind farm in Vietnam with local partner AMI Renewables Energy JSC.

The two parties will co-operate to develop Quang Binh Wind Farm with an aggregate capacity of 210MW, which will make it the largest wind farm in Vietnam.

Located in the coastal area of the Quang Binh province, this latest wind project will be developed in two phases consisting of 109.2MW and 100.8MW, with firm orders issued to the wind turbine supplier for both phases.

AC Energy will bump investment capital for the wind facility’s construction.

With the aim of qualifying for the current round for wind feed-in-tariff of 8.50 US cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), the project is set to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2021.

“As an ideal place for investing in renewable energy, with its ripe market for wind power and notable GDP growth, AC Energy sees Vietnam as a key market as it aims to be one of the largest listed renewables platforms in Southeast Asia,” AC Energy international chief operating officer Patrice Clausse said.

In 2017, AC Energy and AMI Renewables formed platform company AMI AC Renewables to build renewable energy plants in Vietnam.

In April last year, the two companies took two solar plants, the 50MW Khanh Hoa and the 30MW Dak Lak facilities, into commercial operation.

AMI Renewables is targeting to develop and operate a renewable energy platform in Vietnam with a total capacity of 1,000MW by 2025.

“The Quang Binh Wind Farm is an important milestone in the strategic plan of AMI AC Renewables,” AMI Renewables chairman Nguyen Nam Thang said.

AC Energy, with $2 billion of invested and committed equity in renewable and thermal energy in the Philippines and around the region, has committed to scaling up its renewable energy expansion in the region and has identified the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, India, and Myanmar as key target markets.

In November 2018, AC Energy, through its subsidiary AC Energy International Holdings Pte., Ltd., acquired 25 per cent ownership of The Blue Circle Pte., Ltd. (TBC), as well as co-investment rights in TBC’s projects.

AC Energy and TBC will jointly develop, construct, own, and operate TBC’s pipeline of around 2,000MW of renewable energy projects across Southeast Asia, including 700MW in Vietnam. TBC developed and constructed one of the first wind farms in Vietnam, Dam Nai JSC, while AC Energy owns and operates the first wind farm in Southeast Asia, North Wind Power.