A VinaCapital Group and EDF Renewables consortium plans to survey four locations for an offshore wind power project in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, with a total project investment of about $13 billion and a capacity of 3,000MW.

According to the online portal of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, on September 9, leaders of the Provincial People's Committee held a meeting with the consortium about the project set for waters off Ba Ria-Vung Tau beach.

At the meeting, representatives of VinaCapital Group and EDF Renewables proposed surveying four locations for a wind power project off the coast of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, between 40 to 258km from the beach.

According to Electric City of Vietnam, by the end of 2021, the total installed capacity of power sources of the whole system reached 76,620MW, an increase of nearly 7,500MW compared to 2020.

The total capacity of renewable energy sources is 20,670MW (up 3,420MW compared to 2020) and accounts for 27 per cent of the total.

Representatives of VinaCapital and EDF Renewables expect that most of the electricity produced will be exported abroad.

Speaking at the meeting, vice chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Cong Vinh said that the province supported the consortium in implementing the project. However, he noted that investors needed to consult with central ministries and branches to ensure national defence and energy security.

This is not the first large-scale energy project proposed by VinaCapital and its partners. In December 2021, VinaCapital, SkyX Solar, and EDF Renewables announced investment of more than $100 million to develop 200MW of rooftop solar and distributed solar energy projects for commercial and industrial customers in Vietnam.

For liquefied natural gas, VinaCapital has partnered with GS Energy, a South Korean energy conglomerate, to develop a 3000MW power plant in the Mekong Delta province of Long An, with investment of up to $3 billion.

Once completed, the plant will be one of the largest in the south, supplying more than 5 per cent of national electricity.

Despite pandemic headwinds, the project is moving forward and is on track to start in 2026/2027. The complex will act as a transitional and cleaner energy solution for Vietnam as it moves toward its long-term net-zero targets.

Source: VIR