Large wind farm project gets okayed

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According to Ninh Thuan’s Economic Development Office (EDO), Enfinity will develop a 553 hectare-wind power farm in Thuan Nam and Ninh Phuoc districts. The project, capitalised at $251 million, will have total capacity of around 124.5 megawatts.

This is Enfinity’s first power project in Vietnam and one of the largest wind power projects in the country.

“Enfinity want to make investment here because of huge renewable potential in the province and Vietnam’s rising demand for electricity,” a source at the EDO said.

Previously, Enfinity proposed to develop three renewable power projects in Ninh Thuan including a 282MW solar power farm covering 560ha and two wind power farms with a combined capacity of 240MW.

But the EDO source said the government had approved just one wind power farm proposal. “The other projects are pending approval,” he said.

Under the government’s policy, investors are encouraged in renewable energy development, especially in solar and wind power, to address the country’s power shortage.

Ninh Thuan, about 350 kilometres north of Ho Chi Minh City, is considered having the biggest potential for solar and wind power development in Vietnam.

Nguyen Chi Dung, Ninh Thuan People’s Committee Chairman, said wind power development had been centred in the province’s development strategy, which aimed to turn Ninh Thuan into a green energy and tourism hub of Vietnam.

Coinciding with the licensing of Enfinity’s wind power project, Ninh Thuan authoriries also granted investment certificates to a small hydroelectricity plant and two Vietnamese-invested tourism developments, namely the 50ha Son Long Thuan Resort developed by Son Long Thuan Company and the 1.2ha Vinh Hy Tourism Site developed by Phat Hoang Long Company.

EDO said that the province was also considering granting investment certificate to other big projects like the US-backed Federal Owens’ $2.5 billion high-end tourism complex in Vinh Hy district and South Korea’s MK International Company’s $1 billion EEC ecological urban area.