German firm jumps on Vietnam's renewable energy bandwagon

Terra Wood is proposing a $400 mln wind and solar energy project.

German green energy firm Terra Wood has revealed plans to invest $400 million in a wind and solar electricity project in Vietnam, contributing to an active week of renewable energy deals made by foreign investors.

The energy company has submitted an investment plan to build the project in Vietnam’s south central province of Quang Ngai, and on-site inspections started on August 3, according to the local People's Committee website.

Terra Wood's is the third renewable energy deal proposed to Vietnam in a week following a hydropower project run by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and Armstrong S.E. Clean Energy Fund and The Blue Circle’s wind energy project in Ninh Thuan Province.

Chairman of Quang Ngai People's Committee Tran Ngoc Cang welcomed the project and said the province will help facilitate the German investor's project. Cang also gave permission for Terra Wood to conduct research and surveys for the wind and solar electricity plants in Quang Ngai.The German-owned energy company will develop two electricity power plants, one wind and one solar, which will cover a total of 600 hectares with an output of 300 megawatts and total investment of $400 million.

Quang Ngai has immense potential for the development of wind and solar electricity, especially in the districts of Mo Duc and Duc Pho and the famous Ly Son Island. A number of foreign investors are also looking at electricity and renewable energy exploitation in Quang Ngai.

Beside Quang Ngai, foreign-invested solar and wind energy projects have been registered across the country, but only a few have been put into operation due to low electricity prices.

Terra Wood is an international group of consultancy, engineering and project development companies dedicated to green energy projects. Within the network, Terra Wood Vietnam is the country representative of Germany's ProfEC GmbH, which specializes in turnkey wind, biomass, biogas, wind, solar and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects.

Reference Resource: Bao Vnexpress

Read More

Solar Energy Power Future in Vietnam

Although the initial investment cost for solar energy in Vietnam is high but it brings in opportunities for cheaper option than thermal power technology being used in Vietnam.

In other country, solar power plants are competing fiercely with the thermal power plants running on coal.

In Vietnam, Thien Tan solar energy plant has been started to construct on 24 ha land in Quang Ngai with capacity of 19.2 MW at investment of VND 800 bil.  The Ministry of Industry and Trade has also approved the investment project of Tuy Phong solar energy plant on 50 ha land in Binh Thuan with capacity of 30 MW at investment of VND 1,454 bil.  This will open opportunities for renewable energy to contribute to the effort of protecting the environment and curbing climate change.

The solar energy is new in Vietnam therefore the investment in this area is at very early stage.  However, the foreign investors have been increasingly interested in seeking opportunities in investment in solar energy projects.

Similar to investment in wind power energy in Vietnam, one of the concerns for investors is the expected increase in purchasing price from Electricity Vietnam Corporation, the party whom purchase the electricity on Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).   Further, legal frameworks for promoting solar energy investment are not yet finalized.  Accordingly, the contribution ratio of renewable energy in Vietnam is minimal.  The Vietnam government has been trying to put some effort to increase the renewable energy contribution to 5,6% (in 2020) and 9,4% (2030).

 To achieve this, Vietnam government shall need to be consulted on plan to support the solar energy investment project in Vietnam in tax, land, capital, power purchase agreement.  Investors would need to be consulted by local consulting firm on process, procedures on investment policy, appraisal process, power purchase agreement, and other steps to develop and execute an energy project in Vietnam to improve the effectiveness of the investment in renewable energy.

ANT Consulting is here to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory, management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure efficient business start-up operation.  Our services are as following:

• Advisory
• Market Entry
• Tax Advice
• Legal Advice

We strive to save your cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and carry you through as your business grows.  We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848 3520 2779 .  To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

Read More

Changes needed for Development on Wind Energy in Vietnam

For economic sustainable development combined with environmental protection, the Government of Vietnam has made significant steps  in the  formulation of policies on renewable energy  development, which take  advantages  of  favorable  conditions  for the  production of  wind energy.

Many policies  have been  initiated  to  support  wind  power  project,  including  power  price assistance  from central  budget;  assistance to grid  and off-grid  connected wind power projects...focusing on wind power electricity development target to achievethe total wind power capacity from  the  current  negligible  level  to  around  800  MW  by  2020  and around  6,000 MW  by  2030, raising the rate of electricity from wind power accounted for 0.8% in 2020 to 2.1% in 2030.

Some financial policies for investment projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (price supporting mechanism) are issued. Moreover, the   Government   published   independent mechanisms to support  wind power projects on electricity price for grid-connected wind power projects, power purchase agreements for wind power projects.

 Nonetheless, there  are  difficulties  in  the  development  of  wind  power projects  in Vietnam  that should not be ignored. The first thing is difficulty of legal framework. The system of legislation, mechanisms and policies for wind power development are not synchronized.  New project must be  granted  by  the  Ministry  of  Industry  and  Trade  to  establish  the  supplementary  planning procedures  prior  to  implementation.    Power  purchase  agreement  with  EVN  will  be  required  as the initial condition to obtain investment permission.

Moving  toward  the  future  of  clean  energy  in  Vietnam,  the  Government  should  focus  on implementation of preferential treatment to wind energy projects to increase the competitiveness of this renewable energy. In addition, the Government should also collaborate with investors, and industry  experts  to  continue  to  research  the  wind  power potential  in  Vietnam, further  attract investment  and  assistance  from  domestic  and  international  organizations  for  the  wind  power projects.  Further, it is in the meantime required to have synchronized policies, legislations with the establishment of government authority to execute wind power planning and management to remove unreasonable barriers.

The  increase  in  purchasing  price  from  EVN  will  be  attracting  more  investment.   It  has  been discussed  on  the  increase  of  buying  price  from  7,8  US  cent/kWh  however  the  timeline  for  the increase has not yet been finalized.

ANT Consulting is here to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory, management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure efficient business start-up operation.  Our services are as following:

• Advisory
• Market Entry
• Tax Advice
• Legal Advice

We strive to save your cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and carry you through as your business grows.  We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848 3520 2779 .  To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

Read More

US investment agency announces $500 mln for Vietnam’s small companies

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation is particularly interested in clean energy and telecom projects.

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an agency of the U.S. government, has announced that it will invest half a billion dollars into small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam in the next three years.

The plan was confirmed by OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth L. Littlefield during a seven day trip to discuss investment opportunities in Myanmar and Vietnam.

“There is immense potential for high-impact development projects across Asia, especially in clean energy and telecom," Littlefield said in a statement.

During President Obama’s administration, OPIC has tripled its investment throughout Asia to $3.9 billion, but its portfolio in Vietnam is still modest with only a few major projects.

The agency has expressed interest in Vietnam’s private sector and in projects in the areas of renewableenergy, agriculture and information technology.

Littlefield said that loans can vary from $1 million to $250 million and have a maturity of up to 20 years.

OPIC has invested in Vietnam’s largest barramundi breeding project worth $4.5 million in the south central province of Khanh Hoa.

Source: Vnexpress

Read More

Vietnam opens first energy-saving glass plant in Southeast Asia

The plant reflects Vietnam's views on environmentally-friendly building materials.

Vietnam's first modern production line for energy-saving glass was put into operation on July 25 in the southern province of Binh Duong.

According to construction experts, most of the world’ skyscrapers are designed with energy-efficient glass, and Vietnam has started to follow the trend.

In addition to the aesthetic advantage, buildings covered in this type of glass are able to reduce electricity bills by preventing heat or cold air from escaping through windows. The glass also blocks 99 percent of ultraviolet rays that pose a threat to human health.

Demand for energy-saving glass in Vietnam is on the rise now the real estate market is showing signs of a recovery. However, the country now depends entirely on external suppliers, so glass made here has great potential on the local market, said Nguyen Quang Phuc, deputy head of the Vietnam Association for Building Materials.

Work on the first energy-saving glass plant in Vietnam as well as Southeast Asia kicked off in October 2015 with total investment of VND524 trillion ($23.5 billion). Technology and facilities for the plant were imported from Von Ardenne Company, a German manufacturer with around 90 years of experience in construction materials.

State-owned Viglacera Cooperation, the plant's owner, widened its portfolio of modern building materials by introducing the first antibacterial sanitary ware in March this year.

Reference Source: Bao VNexpress

Read More

Potential of Vietnam’s Renewable Energy

Vietnam territory is located in the tropical climate zone with over 3,200 km long coastline. Therefore, there is great potential for renewable energy development. The available renewable energy sources in Vietnam are: solar energy, wind energy, biological energy, hydropower and energy from the sea.

Vietnam has great potential for hydroelectric power, with total theoretical capacity of about 35 GW, the technical potential is about 26 GW, annually it can produce more than 100 GWh; in which the small hydropower (the installed machine capacity <30 MW) has the potential to produce about 15-20 GWh of electricity.

Until 2013, the total number of projects have been put into operation is 268 projects, with a total installed machine capacity of 14,240.5 MW. As planned, until 2017, there will be 473 projects will be put into operation with a total installed machine capacity of 21,229.3 MW. In addition, according to the Electricity Corporation of Vietnam, the potential of small hydropower has installed machine capacity of about 4,000 MW.

In a report of the World Bank in 2001, the wind energy potential of Vietnam is estimated at 512 GW, much higher compared to other countries such as Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.

Vietnam has great potential for solar energy, particularly in the Central and South of the country, with the average intensity of solar radiation of about 5 kWh/m2. The total theoretical potential of solar energy in Vietnam is estimated at 43.9 billion TOE (TOE – tons of oil equivalent).

With the advantage of being an agricultural country, Vietnam has a large and diverse biomass sources, including wood, firewood, rice husk, rice straw, sugarcane bagasse and other kind of agricultural residues. Annually, Vietnam is estimated to have over 60 million tons of biomass from agricultural waste. The biomass energy sources mentioned above can be used to produce bio-fuel (ethanol), fuel pellet, biogas and various other products.

Vietnam livestock industry is now quite developed, released to the environment annually a large amount of livestock waste in the form of solid and liquid.

According to the statistic data from national environmental status by 2014, the amount of solid waste from livestock in 2013 in Vietnam includes: 18.5 million tons from raising cows, 13.8 million tons from raising buffalo, 18.9 million tons from raising pig, 22.6 million tons from raising poultry. Part of livestock waste in rural area of Vietnam provides raw material for more than half a million active biogas in three regions of the country.

With a population of nearly 90 million people, the annually amount of domestic waste generated due to activities of the population is very huge. Domestic waste after being collected and classified can be recycled, reused and recovered energy from waste incineration or landfills.

ANT Consulting is here to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory, management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure efficient business start-up operation.  Our services are as following:

• Advisory
• Market Entry
• Tax Advice
• Legal Advice

We strive to save your cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and carry you through as your business grows.  We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848 3520 2779 .  To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

Read More

Vietnam's 4th wind power plant starts generation

The country plans to have 800 megawatts of wind power by 2020, but pricing remains an issue.

Binh Thuan Wind Power Company said the Phu Lac plant has 12 turbines with a combined output of 24 megawatts, local media reported.

The project costs more than VND1 trillion ($48 million), including a $37 million grant from German government development bank KfW.

Vietnam is operating three other wind power plants including two in Binh Thuan and another in the Mekong Delta’s Bac Lieu Province.

The country now depends on thermal and hydropower for almost all of its electricity demand, while wind power has only contributed 0.3 percent, according to a report this week from state-owned utility Electricity of Vietnam.

Thermal power plants make up more than half of the total generation, and among them, coal-fired plants account for 34 percent.

The country has been taking steps to develop cleaner and more sustainable energy sources. It plans to have 800 MW of wind power by 2020, compared to 140 MW as of March this year, according to a post on the government's website.

Investors have committed to more than 45 wind powerprojects to generate more than 4,800 MW in total, but most of them are still on paper. Binh Thuan alone has 16.

Various media reports suggest that investors in general are reluctant to develop wind power projects because prices in Vietnam are not high enough to cover the costs.

In Vietnam, state-owned Electricity of Vietnam, which controls the national grid, reportedly pays 7.8 U.S. cents or VND1,731 per kilowatt-hour for wind power, much lower than the rates in China, Japan and the Philippines.

Binh Thuan Province's Wind Power Association has requested the government to raise prices to 12 cents in 2017.

Read More