Solar ESCO develops solar energy project in Tong Hong Tannery Vietnam

With a total installed capacity of 460kWp, the project aims to produce about 679,530kWh of electricity per year for Tong Hong Tannery Vietnam

The grid connection ceremony of the 460kWp solar power system has just taken place at Tong Hong Tannery Vietnam specialised in manufacturing sports shoes at My Xuan A2 Industrial Park in Tan Thanh district in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

The project, developed by Solar ESCO JSC, a member of SolarBK Holdings – a leading company in researching, developing and supplying renewable energy products and plans in Vietnam – was directly installed on Tong Hong Tannery's roof using Solar ESCO’s capital.

When the solar power system begins to operate from this June, it will help Tong Hong Tannery Vietnam to reduce emissions by about 578 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Besides saving on the initial investment, Tong Hong could also save at least 5 per cent of cost per kWh and contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions after each product to fall in line with the standards set by the brand.

As per the agreement terms, after 15 years Solar ESCO will hand over the solar power system and Tong Hong will continue using it for the next 10-15 years.

As one of the strategic supply chain factories of PUMA – a large German multinational specialised in manufacturing footwear and sports accessories – Tong Hong is required to conform to the environmental policy that PUMA applies to its suppliers.

One of PUMA’s requirements is to limit the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the production process, thus installing the solar power system is an effective and easily measurable solution.

Through the Vietnam Improvement Programme (VIP) on resource efficiency and energy saving, promoting sustainable production in the textile and apparel industry of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in partnership with a number of global brands including PUMA, Solar ESCO was shortlisted to the list of prestigious suppliers to work directly with Tong Hong.

In a short time, by the efforts of both sides, Tong Hong and SolarESCO have signed an agreement and chose SolarBK – a leading enterprise with significant experience and competence in the solar power industry in Vietnam – to implement the solar power project for the Vung Tau-based factory.

At this project, Solar ESCO will directly participate in the development and investment of the solar power system, using IREX's solar panels and SolarBK's engineering and construction competence to meet Tong Hong’s specific requirements.

With the advantage of being part of SolarBK’s complete value chain, Solar ESCO is considered a prestigious partner for many consulting and financial organisations in realising the ESCO (Energy Service Company) investment model in Vietnam. Through this model, Solar ESCO will be providing total solutions from consulting, designing, installing, operating, and financing to energy system management at the customer company’s facility and earning based on the energy-saving efficiency brought by the system.

This could be a popular energy-saving co-operation and investment model in the world, which the project developer and investor (Solar ESCO), the beneficiary company (Tong Hong), and the community all gain benefits.

Co-operative deals like the one with SolarESCO on solar power project development help companies like Tong Hong to produce green energy from empty rooftop area, making profits without investment, managing risks, and saving on power usage costs.

More importantly, the companies are also building a green and environmentally friendly image – one of the priority benchmarks in partner selection and brand evaluation in many places around the world.

Not only fulfilling the solar power project for Tong Hong, Solar ESCO has also been implementing many other solar power projects like the ICD Tan Cang Song Than (500.96kWp), Vincom Danang (226kWp), Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (166kWp), and several EVN projects. By the end of 2019, the capacity of new project development is expected to reach 15MWp.

“For the past 30 years, the co-operation between Tong Hong and the world's major brands provided us a good foundation to promote environmental protection. We thank IFC and PUMA for supporting us in carrying out the cost-efficient solar energy project, which helped Tong Hong’s carbon emission reduction plan to make its first steady step,” said Chen Chun Chi, deputy general director Tong Hong Tannery Vietnam.

“We will continue to expand this project to increase the renewable energy ratio and reduce our carbon emissions,” he added.