ACEN to launch new wind power project in Vietnam

Danessa Rivera - The Philippine StarJanuary 21, 2022 | 12:00am MANILA, Philippines -- ACEN Corp. is looking to launch another wind power project in Vietnam in the first quarter after switching on three wind farms last year.

The 60-megawatt (MW) Lac Hoa and Hoa Dong Wind in Soc Trang is expected to come online within this quarter. The project is a collaboration with partner UPC Renewables and will feature the tallest wind turbines in the country to date at a record hub height of 162 meters.

ACEN said transformational partnerships proved to be key to its rapid renewables footprint expansion in Vietnam. Last year, ACEN successfully switched on three new wind farms with over 380 MW of renewables capacity.

Leveraging on Vietnam's strong wind resource potential, ACEN jointly developed wind projects withits partners, whose impressive renewables growth remained unaffected by the pandemic. "We are pleased with the rapid progress that we have seen in our Vietnam projects.

Powering threeenergy plants in 2021 was a significant accomplishment that we could not have achieved without the collaboration with our partners and strong support from the government of Vietnam," ACEN president and CEO Eric Francia said. "We will continue to actively participate in the green-led recovery and deliver on our Net Zero aspirations," he said.

The projects, some of the most notable developments in Vietnam to date, aim to contribute to the country's clean energy supply. The 88-MW Ninh Thuan wind farm in South Central Vietnam commenced operations in Octoberlast year and is the second partnership between ACEN and the BIM Group.

The 252-MW Quang Binh wind project, which is one of the largest wind farms in the country, is a collaboration with AMI Renewables in the North Central Vietnam. It began commercial operations in November.

In the same month, ACEN and partner The Blue Circle also switched on the 40-MW Mui Ne Phase2 wind farm in Binh Thuan Province, South Vietnam. "We are deeply grateful to our partners at BIM Group, AMI Renewables, and The Blue Circle.

Wecommend all teams involved, particularly ACEN's Vietnam team, for achieving such a feat given the unexpected and unpredictable Covid conditions in 2021," ACEN International Group head Patrice Clausse said. "We are proud to support Vietnam in its goal to increase its renewables capacity and eliminate the country's greenhouse gas emissions at the soonest time possible," he said.

On top of these wind projects, ACEN has two more renewable projects--the50-MW Khanh Hoa and 30-MW Dak Lak solar farms which started operations in 2019--for a total of six projects in Vietnam. In the race against time and climate change, ACEN said it remains committed to help Vietnam reduce its dependency on fossil fuel and fossil imports and forge a cleaner, more affordable and dependable energy pathway.